Asset One Wealth Management LLC Makes New $37.99 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Asset One Wealth Management initiated a $37.99 million Microsoft position by purchasing 96,016 shares, making MSFT its third-largest holding at roughly 4% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $589.71; 42 analysts rate the stock Buy, compared with four Holds and two Sells.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98. However, investors continue to weigh heavy AI infrastructure spending, margin pressure and potential regulatory action against Azure and its business software operations.

Asset One Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 96,016 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $37,987,000. Microsoft comprises about 4.0% of Asset One Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,715,379,000 after buying an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $589.71.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $505.53 and a 200-day moving average of $440.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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