Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Investment Research Partners LLC

Key Points

• Investment Research Partners increased its Microsoft stake by 19.5% in the second quarter to 14,078 shares valued at approximately $5.25 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, equivalent to an annualized $3.92 payout and a 0.8% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 43 buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating alongside a $571.18 price target, though valuation, heavy AI infrastructure spending and recent insider selling remain notable risks.

Investment Research Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,078 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.8% of Investment Research Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Investment Research Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 234.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,619,211,000 after acquiring an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $512.80 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $487.37 and a 200-day moving average of $429.36.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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 forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 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 paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is supporting MSFT. Wells Fargo added Microsoft to its Q4 Tactical Ideas list and reportedly raised its price target to $725, citing accelerating Azure growth and improving Copilot monetization. The bullish calls follow Microsoft’s strongest quarterly performance in decades and reflect growing confidence that AI spending is translating into revenue. What's Going On With Microsoft Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: New real-time AI voice models expand Microsoft’s addressable market. Microsoft launched three speech and transcription models, including MAI-Transcribe-2-Streaming, which can begin responding in roughly 320 milliseconds. The technology targets contact centers, multilingual assistants, live captions and other enterprise voice applications, potentially creating additional demand for Microsoft’s AI platform and cloud services. Microsoft Targets Contact Center Market With Real-Time AI Voice Models
• Positive Sentiment: Recent performance reinforces the AI growth narrative. Microsoft shares gained about 38% during the third quarter after earnings showed the fastest Azure growth in four years, driven by strong AI demand. Investors also point to expanding Copilot adoption, enterprise licensing opportunities and continued integration of AI agents into Microsoft’s software ecosystem. MSFT Stock Rallies 38% as Wall Street Sees Microsoft’s AI Spending Pay Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is experiencing senior leadership turnover. LinkedIn chief Ryan Roslansky and Microsoft Science president Peter Lee are expected to depart. Roslansky’s exit follows nearly 18 years with LinkedIn and Microsoft and adds to ongoing changes in the company’s AI leadership structure. Former LinkedIn chief Roslansky to leave Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and investment intensity remain key risks. Some commentary argues that Microsoft’s rally has increased reliance on a higher valuation multiple, while AI infrastructure spending may outpace free cash flow if compute prices decline or monetization disappoints. These concerns could limit upside even as Azure demand remains strong. The AI Revolution Could Be Microsoft’s Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $571.18.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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