Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Empirical Asset Management acquired 11,857 Microsoft shares worth approximately $4.4 million, making Microsoft about 1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, beating analyst estimates, while revenue increased 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft’s stock is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. However, recent insider selling and regulatory and hiring-related uncertainties present potential risks.

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,857 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,423,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.0% of Empirical Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,619,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493,786 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792,718 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "market outperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $578.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The business's 50-day moving average price is $501.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $434.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft Company 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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