Ardmore Road Asset Management LP Has $29.61 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ardmore Road Asset Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 13.8% in the first quarter, selling 12,765 shares and retaining 80,000 shares valued at approximately $29.61 million.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, with major holders including Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital, Morgan Stanley, and Norges Bank increasing or initiating positions.
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $559.16.

Ardmore Road Asset Management LP cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,000 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 12,765 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.0% of Ardmore Road Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. New Street Research reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $559.16.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $407.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $407.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest earnings showed stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue, with Azure growth and Copilot adoption reinforcing the view that substantial AI investment is beginning to generate returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors continue to favor Microsoft over some other mega-cap technology names. Hedge Funds Favor Microsoft Over Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target to $660 and maintained an Outperform rating, arguing that Microsoft’s data-center expansion is measured, flexible, and supported by durable cloud demand. Other analysts also identified Azure growth, backlog, and institutional buying as potential catalysts for a year-end rally. Bernstein Raises Microsoft Target
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may unveil its Maia 300 AI chip as early as September and secure production capacity for more than 300,000 units could reduce reliance on Nvidia processors, lower long-term AI costs, and support Microsoft’s cloud strategy. Microsoft Maia 300 Chip Report

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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