Elefante Mark B Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Elefante Mark B initiated a Microsoft position in the second quarter, buying 21,836 shares valued at approximately $8.15 million. Microsoft now represents about 3.5% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, both exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, or $3.92 annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.71. However, regulatory scrutiny in the U.K., rising AI infrastructure costs and recent insider selling remain potential risks.

Elefante Mark B purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 21,836 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $8,145,000. Microsoft accounts for about 3.5% of Elefante Mark B's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $37,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% during the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company's fifty day moving average is $505.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.59. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 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 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Evercore upgraded shares of Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Forty-two equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $589.71.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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.