Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires 19,008 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management increased its Microsoft position by 9.7% in the first quarter, purchasing 19,008 shares for a total of 215,943 shares valued at approximately $79.9 million. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. Analysts remain bullish, giving the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $558.87.
• AI and Azure growth support Microsoft’s outlook, but concentration on OpenAI, rising infrastructure costs and recent insider selling could create risks. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annualized yield.

Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,943 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 19,008 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.0% of Madison Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $79,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Microsoft by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $131,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,371 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI growth are the main catalysts. Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for fiscal 2026, while fourth-quarter cloud revenue increased 43%. Microsoft also exceeded quarterly revenue and earnings expectations, supporting optimism that AI demand is translating into recurring cloud and enterprise revenue. Microsoft Azure Fiscal 2026 Sales Exceed $100B
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint in India. The company opened its largest Indian data-center hub in Hyderabad and signed early customers including Adani Group and HDFC Bank. Microsoft has committed approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian operations, positioning Azure for growth in a large and rapidly developing market. Microsoft Opens Its Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive. Analysts have raised price targets, including Tigress Financial’s $690 target, citing durable AI and cloud growth. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet, recurring software revenue and approximately $0.91 quarterly dividend also provide support for the long-term investment case. Tigress Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is a significant growth engine but also a concentration risk. Reports estimate that OpenAI may account for roughly 70% of Microsoft’s AI revenue. The relationship boosts near-term demand, but reliance on one partner could increase volatility if economics, technology preferences or customer concentration change. OpenAI May Account for 70 Percent of Microsoft AI Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and legal notices may temper sentiment. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares worth about $4.9 million, following EVP Takeshi Numoto’s sale of approximately $2.4 million. Multiple law firms are also promoting a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These items do not establish wrongdoing, but they can add near-term headline pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is increasing execution and margin risks. Large data-center commitments and infrastructure spending are necessary to support demand, but could pressure free cash flow and margins if capacity is built ahead of revenue or component shortages delay deployments. Microsoft’s valuation also leaves less room for disappointment after its sharp rally.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $499.86 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day moving average is $403.86 and its 200 day moving average is $406.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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