Bantamac Capital LLC Acquires 2,800 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Bantamac Capital acquired 2,800 Microsoft shares worth approximately $1.04 million, making Microsoft 0.5% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: 42 rate Microsoft a Buy, compared with four Holds and two Sells, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, both above estimates, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Bantamac Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,800 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,044,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.5% of Bantamac Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SSI Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,478,000. Tacita Capital Inc acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,425,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $24,168,000. Rockbridge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $11,491,000. Finally, Ackerman Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $424,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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