Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC

Key Points

• Alpine Woods Capital Investors increased its Microsoft stake by 19.9% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 22,099 shares worth approximately $8.24 million. Institutional investors 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 grew 17.7% year over year. Shares opened at $535.07, near the company’s 12-month high, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.97 trillion.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with 42 Buy ratings and an average price target of $578.73, although one firm downgraded the stock to Strong Sell. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, while insiders sold approximately $71.4 million of stock during the quarter.

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 19.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,099 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Gould Capital LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 19.9% in the second quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 12,223 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,560,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 169,135 shares of the software giant's stock worth $63,091,000 after acquiring an additional 7,479 shares during the last quarter. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $328,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.2% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 273,833 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $102,145,000 after acquiring an additional 13,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. now owns 6,814 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

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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