Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Boosted by Columbia Bank

Key Points

• Columbia Bank increased its Microsoft stake by 12.2% in the second quarter, adding 5,127 shares to reach 47,249 shares valued at approximately $17.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of MSFT.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: 43 analysts rate Microsoft Buy, with a consensus price target of $569.29. Azure demand, Copilot growth and expanding AI infrastructure—including a planned $10 billion-plus Gulf-region investment—are key catalysts.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91. Shares recently opened at $497.93, and insiders sold roughly $71.4 million of stock during the quarter.

Columbia Bank increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,249 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,127 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.0% of Columbia Bank's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Columbia Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $12,235,785,000 after acquiring an additional 458,014 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,412 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is increasing. Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $575, citing Azure and Copilot growth, durable margins, and a path for AI spending to produce stronger revenue. Jefferies also reaffirmed its Buy rating, while other analysts highlighted potential upside. Why These Wall Street Analysts Think Microsoft Stock Is Getting Back on Track
• Positive Sentiment: Azure demand remains the central growth catalyst. Reports point to a roughly $678 billion backlog and the need for Microsoft to add data-center capacity quickly enough to serve existing customers. Azure Red Hat OpenShift for Azure Government also received DoD Impact Level 5 certification, expanding its use among government and highly regulated customers. Azure Red Hat OpenShift Achieves IL5 Certification
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. The company plans to invest more than $10 billion in Gulf-region cloud, AI, connectivity and cybersecurity infrastructure through 2030, potentially supporting long-term regional demand. Microsoft Plans Gulf Investment

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.29.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $497.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company's fifty day moving average is $475.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share 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 given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last quarter. 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 and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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