Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Vanderbilt University's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Vanderbilt University increased its Microsoft stake by 64.3% in the second quarter to 36,416 shares valued at approximately $13.6 million, making Microsoft its sixth-largest holding and 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $564.27.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while executives Satya Nadella and Amy Hood sold shares through pre-arranged trading plans; insiders sold $71.4 million of stock during the latest quarter.

Vanderbilt University increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 64.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,416 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 14,252 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of Vanderbilt University's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Vanderbilt University's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $101,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure and AI businesses remain the primary bullish catalysts. Analysts point to accelerating cloud growth, broad enterprise adoption and Microsoft’s distribution advantage through Azure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot. These Magnificent Seven Members Still Look Cheap
• Positive Sentiment: Causaly expanded its collaboration with Microsoft, making its agentic scientific-research tools available within Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 and Teams. The deal supports Microsoft’s strategy of adding specialized AI workflows to its enterprise software ecosystem. Causaly is Now Available in Microsoft Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s 8% quarterly dividend increase reinforces its strong cash generation and provides shareholder support, although the company continues to invest heavily in cloud and AI infrastructure. Microsoft Slips as Its Quarterly Dividend Climbs 8%
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman called recent reports of concerning model behavior at OpenAI a “serious situation” and emphasized the need for controllable, human-aligned AI. The comments highlight Microsoft’s safety focus but also underscore reputational and product-liability risks across the sector. OpenAI's latest AI revelation is a serious situation
• Negative Sentiment: Unsealed filings reportedly include Microsoft and OpenAI employees’ concerns that AI training on millions of news articles could amount to the “largest theft of labor in human history.” The disclosures may weaken the companies’ fair-use defense and increase potential litigation, licensing and regulatory costs. OpenAI, Microsoft executives' quotes on AI training threaten copyright defense
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of insider selling added to near-term sentiment pressure, while Microsoft faces competitive challenges from Salesforce’s AIforce and ongoing debate over whether its substantial AI spending will generate adequate returns. Microsoft Trading Down After Insider Selling

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $493.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $466.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $422.77. The company has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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