CCM Investment Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• CCM Investment Advisers increased its Microsoft holdings by 5.6% in the first quarter, bringing its position to 67,596 shares valued at approximately $25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of MSFT.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, giving Microsoft a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $560.27, although insiders sold shares and investors remain focused on the profitability risks of heavy AI infrastructure spending.

CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,596 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 3,604 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.4% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

MSFT stock opened at $495.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $411.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $408.50. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Dbs Bank reduced their price target on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.27.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company'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 transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last quarter. Company 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: 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

Microsoft Company 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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source