AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $1.14 Billion Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 26.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,045,129 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,072,962 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.5% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,143,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $1.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $506.73. 6,242,788 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,145,063. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $509.74 and its 200 day moving average is $449.32.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.