Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.0% of Bessemer Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Microsoft worth $2,562,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $558.64.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $464.72 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $397.99 and a 200 day moving average of $405.96.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft 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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