Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Buys 2,985 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Kinsale Capital Group increased its Microsoft stake by 9.6% in the second quarter, purchasing 2,985 shares for a total of 34,042 shares valued at approximately $12.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Azure and AI demand remain key growth drivers, though heavy AI spending and valuation concerns pose risks.
• Wall Street maintains a generally bullish view, with 43 Buy ratings, a $571.18 consensus price target and a “Moderate Buy” average rating. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, while recent insider activity has been net selling.

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,042 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,985 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.7% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 80.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26,109 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,738,000 after buying an additional 11,679 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 6.4% during the second quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 130,483 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $48,673,000 after acquiring an additional 7,891 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.3% during the second quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 286,452 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $106,852,000 after acquiring an additional 9,111 shares during the period. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 5.4% during the second quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 18,452 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,883,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 33,820 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,616,000 after purchasing an additional 11,242 shares during the period. 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: Azure and AI demand remain the primary catalyst. Investor data and analyst commentary point to accelerating Azure demand, while Microsoft’s recent earnings showed its fastest cloud growth in four years. The improving demand is helping ease concerns that the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending will not generate adequate returns. Ca$htag: MSFT Azure Cloud Drives Soaring Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo added Microsoft to its Q4 Tactical Ideas list and raised its price target to $725, citing Azure’s growth potential and the prospect of improved AI monetization through Copilot. The action adds to a series of bullish analyst revisions; one report noted that 52 analysts covering Microsoft currently have no sell ratings. With Azure as a Catalyst, Microsoft Is Positioned for Sustained Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship provides potential additional value. Investors are increasingly focused on Microsoft’s stake and commercial partnership with OpenAI, particularly ahead of a possible OpenAI initial public offering that could provide a market reference for the investment. OpenAI’s Future IPO Keeps Me Buying Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced new real-time AI speech models for customer-service agents, multilingual assistants and voice interfaces. The products broaden Microsoft’s enterprise AI offering and could support additional cloud consumption and software revenue. Microsoft Targets Contact Center Market With Real-Time AI Voice Models
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting Microsoft’s October 7 Surface and Windows event. New hardware or Windows updates could support the ecosystem, although the event has not yet produced a material earnings catalyst. Microsoft Stock Notches Up Ahead of the Surface Show
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include heavy AI capital spending, valuation concerns and broader market concentration. Critics argue that rising data-center capacity could pressure compute pricing and returns, while strategists warn that a market correction could disproportionately affect megacap technology stocks. Microsoft’s dividend remains affordable, but AI infrastructure spending and lease commitments could limit future dividend growth. Morgan Stanley Strategist Sees Market Drawdown Potential

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $517.53 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 has a market capitalization of $3.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $490.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $429.97.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. CLSA reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $571.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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