Aristotle Capital Management LLC Has $1.25 Billion Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Aristotle Capital Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 4.1% in the first quarter, selling 145,065 shares. It still held 3.38 million shares worth approximately $1.25 billion, representing 2.6% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, supported by a 40.31% net margin.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds and an average price target of $559.16. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, implying a 0.7% annualized yield.

Aristotle Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,377,893 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 145,065 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.6% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Aristotle Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,250,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $407.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $407.37. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. President Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $559.16.

More Microsoft News

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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