Blue Chip Partners LLC Acquires 1,314 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Blue Chip Partners increased its Microsoft position by 1.3%, purchasing 1,314 shares to own 102,117 shares valued at approximately $37.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus $87.62 billion expected. Revenue rose 17.7% year over year, supported by Azure growth and Copilot adoption.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 42 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $559.16. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, while insiders have sold 38,572 shares worth about $17.8 million over the past 90 days.

Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,117 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Blue Chip Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in 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. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Roundup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.16.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MSFT opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $407.02 and a 200 day moving average of $407.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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 business 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 revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents 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 sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

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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