Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Lifted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Microsoft stake by 3.1% in the second quarter, adding 115,037 shares to own 3.81 million shares valued at approximately $1.42 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 17.7% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a bullish outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27. Insiders, however, sold 37,310 shares worth $17.26 million over the past three months.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,811,080 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 115,037 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.1% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.05% of Microsoft worth $1,421,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock worth $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Argus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $505.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day moving average price is $428.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $411.73. 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a long-term partnership with Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN to bring Arabic-language ALLAM AI models to Microsoft Foundry and Microsoft 365 Copilot. The agreement strengthens Microsoft’s enterprise-AI reach in the Middle East and could support additional Azure and Copilot adoption. Microsoft Expands Middle East AI Footprint Through Long-Term HUMAIN Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and ChronoScale reportedly plan a 50-megawatt AI-compute deployment using NVIDIA GB300 systems. The project signals continued demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure, although it also implies substantial near-term capital spending. ChronoScale and Microsoft Plan 50 MW AI Compute Deployment
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Superintelligence team is pursuing internally developed frontier models and greater AI self-sufficiency. Building proprietary models could reduce dependence on outside providers and improve long-term economics if execution is successful. Microsoft AI Self-Sufficiency Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square reportedly made Microsoft its largest AI-related holding after reducing Alphabet exposure, adding an influential vote of confidence in Microsoft’s cloud, AI and backlog outlook. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Microsoft Investment

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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