Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co Makes New $14.71 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. purchased 39,435 Microsoft shares worth approximately $14.71 million, making Microsoft its fifth-largest holding and representing about 4.1% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 71.13%, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $578.73, despite some rating downgrades and ongoing regulatory and hiring risks.

Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new position in 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 fund purchased 39,435 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $14,710,000. Microsoft comprises about 4.1% of Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 234.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 38,442.1% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $501.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $435.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Key Microsoft News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. UBS Group lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup raised Microsoft from a "market outperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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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