Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas' 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Oddo BHF Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 1.4% to 489,634 shares worth approximately $181.2 million, making Microsoft 7.2% of its portfolio and its second-largest position. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year and above analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $560.27.
• Insiders sold 37,310 shares worth $17.3 million over the past 90 days, while investors weigh Microsoft’s AI opportunity against concerns over roughly $175 billion in infrastructure spending, pressure on cloud margins, and operational uncertainty in China.

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 489,634 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,957 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 7.2% of Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas' holdings in Microsoft were worth $181,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. China Renaissance decreased their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Dbs Bank reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $495.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $411.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $408.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft 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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