Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Acquires 9,451 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments increased its Microsoft position by 3.5%, adding 9,451 shares to own 282,623 shares valued at approximately $105.4 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $564.27.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, beating estimates and showing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. However, its planned data-center expansion brings significant capital-spending and execution risks, while insiders recently sold shares.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 282,623 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 9,451 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.6% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $105,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $564.27.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $495.63 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The company's fifty day moving average price is $455.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.40. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to more than triple global data-center capacity to approximately 38 gigawatts by 2032. The expansion is intended to address server shortages that have forced Microsoft to turn away some AI and cloud customers, potentially allowing the company to capture more Azure demand and prevent business from shifting to rivals. Microsoft plans 38 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Microsoft’s AI and cloud growth. Recent commentary cites Azure revenue growth of 43%, expectations for further acceleration, and approximately 30 million paid Copilot seats—supporting the view that AI products are becoming meaningful enterprise businesses. Microsoft: Big Tech Winner Still On Sale
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets are moving higher, with a Yahoo Finance analyst survey cited at $572.92. Microsoft is also expanding Azure’s commercial ecosystem through partnerships such as Talkdesk’s Azure Marketplace integration, which could increase cloud consumption and simplify enterprise adoption. Microsoft Price Targets Are Rising
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reorganizing its reporting structure and plans to disclose quarterly Azure revenue beginning in fiscal 2027. Greater transparency may help investors assess cloud performance, but the reporting change itself does not alter fundamentals. Microsoft’s Azure Reporting Shift Adds Clarity
• Neutral Sentiment: Longtime communications chief Frank Shaw is leaving after nearly three decades, a senior leadership transition that may attract attention but is not currently tied to a change in strategy. Frank Shaw leaving Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: The data-center buildout will require very large capital expenditures, raising concerns about power availability, construction costs, free cash flow and returns on investment. The company’s recent capacity constraints also highlight execution risk. Microsoft’s AI Crunch Forced It to Turn Away Business
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing competition from Alphabet and other cloud providers, alongside security and productivity risks from bring-your-own-device users and concerns that Microsoft’s valuation already reflects substantial AI growth.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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