Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Purchases New Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Danica Pension acquired 731,505 Microsoft shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $272.9 million. Microsoft now represents about 4.4% of Danica’s portfolio and is its fourth-largest holding.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, while insiders sold approximately $71.4 million in shares over the past three months, including sales by CEO Satya Nadella under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 731,505 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $272,866,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.4% of Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $2,111,268,000. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $19,981,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $4,229,000. Bonfire Financial bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $1,233,000. Finally, Pacific Wealth Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $478,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

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 Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.73.

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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Profile

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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