Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,602 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,469 shares during the quarter. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hiley Hunt Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hiley Hunt Wealth Management now owns 2,731 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. jvl associates llc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 4,776 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.9% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 19,876 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,414,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Sincerus Advisory LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.5% in the second quarter. Sincerus Advisory LLC now owns 918 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the second quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 30,202 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $11,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Trending Headlines about Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley identified a bullish technical signal across several megacap technology stocks, including Microsoft, potentially supporting further gains as institutional positioning improves. A Bullish Signal Could Point to Gains Ahead for These Big Tech Stocks
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s roughly $678 billion Azure backlog gives investors greater visibility into future cloud and AI revenue, helping counter fears that hyperscalers may struggle to earn adequate returns on AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft Stock Rises as $678 Billion Backlog Supports AI Spending
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s internally developed AI chips are reported to deliver efficiency gains of up to 40% versus reliance on OpenAI-related infrastructure. Greater use of its own technology could improve capacity, margins and control over the AI stack. Microsoft’s Own AI Chips Are Driving Efficiency Gains
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to highlight Azure’s more-than-$100 billion annual revenue milestone, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s ability to monetize AI through its broad enterprise software base.
- Positive Sentiment: New Azure and Microsoft Marketplace integrations, including Dirac’s AI process-planning platform and other enterprise applications, reinforce demand for Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem. An investment manager also maintained exposure to Microsoft, while Altarock Partners increased its stake. Dirac Brings AI-Driven Process Planning to Microsoft Azure
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is changing its AI data-center policy by reducing nondisclosure requirements and emphasizing community engagement. The approach may ease regulatory and local opposition, but could increase transparency and complicate facility expansion.
- Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that heavy AI capital expenditures may outpace revenue and cash-flow returns. A separate comparison argued Oracle currently offers stronger AI backlog growth and valuation, potentially making Microsoft less attractive to some buyers.
- Negative Sentiment: Beijing is reportedly accelerating the replacement of Microsoft Windows in Chinese government systems, creating a geopolitical and regional-sales headwind. The departure of Microsoft AI’s chief marketing officer also introduces some execution uncertainty around consumer AI adoption.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $484.31 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $415.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $408.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft
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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