M1 Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• M1 Capital Management acquired 5,527 Microsoft shares worth approximately $2.06 million, making MSFT its 22nd-largest holding and 0.8% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: 41 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy, with an average price target of $581.24; Scotiabank, Barclays, and Jefferies recently raised or reaffirmed bullish targets.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. Insiders have sold roughly $75.4 million of stock over the past 90 days, primarily through pre-arranged trading plans.

M1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,527 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.8% of M1 Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Scotiabank raised their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $512.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $581.24.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $533.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $504.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $438.68. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued 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 is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results.
• Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective.

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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