Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Boosted by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Key Points

• Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 115.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,610 more shares and bringing its holdings to 14,212 shares worth about $6.87 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Microsoft has 39 Buy ratings versus 7 Holds, with a consensus target price of $560.88, though a few firms recently trimmed their price targets.
• Microsoft’s latest results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, while recent news continues to highlight AI and cloud momentum despite a UK regulatory probe and a GitHub security incident.

Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 115.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,212 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 7,610 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.2% of Rakuten Securities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Rakuten Securities Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore lowered their target price on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said Microsoft’s restructured OpenAI partnership looks like a net positive rather than a setback, reinforcing the view that MSFT remains a key beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption. Wedbush Views Microsoft (MSFT)’s Restructured OpenAI Partnership As Net Positive Rather Than Strategic Failure
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still being framed as a leading AI and cloud winner, with commentary highlighting Azure growth, Copilot demand, and broader enterprise AI spending as long-term drivers. Wedbush Views Microsoft (MSFT)’s Restructured OpenAI Partnership As Net Positive Rather Than Strategic Failure
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also attracting investor attention as a preferred AI holding, with one high-profile investor reportedly rotating out of Alphabet and into MSFT, which can be seen as a vote of confidence in the stock’s AI positioning. This Famous Investor Just Sold All Of His Alphabet Stock and Loaded Up On Microsoft Stock. Should You?
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a large purchase of 650,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits, suggesting continued investment in sustainability initiatives that may support its long-term corporate image and compliance goals. Microsoft's carbon removal plans aren't dead after all
• Neutral Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests Microsoft may be undervalued after a recent pullback, but that view is still debated and depends on whether AI spending translates into sustained earnings growth. Why Bill Ackman Thinks the Selloff in Microsoft Stock Is Misguided
• Negative Sentiment: The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened a probe into Microsoft’s software practices, creating a regulatory overhang that could pressure sentiment if scrutiny expands. UK CMA Opens Probe Into Microsoft (MSFT) Software Practices
• Negative Sentiment: GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft, confirmed a security incident involving stolen internal repositories, adding a cybersecurity headline that could weigh on the stock near term. GitHub confirms 3,800 internal repos stolen through poisoned VS Code extension as supply chain worm hits Microsoft's Python SDK

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $421.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $398.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.30. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Microsoft

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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