Global Endowment Management LP Increases Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Global Endowment Management LP increased its Microsoft stake by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 50,677 shares worth about $24.5 million.
• Microsoft continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with several large funds adding to positions and institutional investors now owning 71.13% of the company.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and a $561.20 price target.

Global Endowment Management LP increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,677 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.1% of Global Endowment Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Global Endowment Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 908.5% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 23,568,250 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,398,077,000 after buying an additional 21,231,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Arete Research lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.74 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $411.08 and a 200 day moving average of $428.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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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