Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,493 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,143,000. Microsoft comprises 2.4% of Axiom Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Key Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
- Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
- Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of MSFT stock opened at $495.40 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. 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's fifty day moving average is $411.27 and its 200-day moving average is $408.06.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Microsoft Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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