Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Barbara Oil Co.

Key Points

• Barbara Oil Co. increased its Microsoft stake by 7.4% in the first quarter, acquiring 1,600 additional shares for a total holding of 23,220 shares worth approximately $8.6 million. Microsoft represents 3.3% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, with several funds increasing their positions, while insiders sold 38,572 shares worth about $17.8 million in the latest quarter.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.74 in adjusted EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, up 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a $0.91 quarterly dividend, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $558.87.

Barbara Oil Co. grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,220 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.3% of Barbara Oil Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Barbara Oil Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Microsoft by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $499.99 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $404.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. HSBC lowered their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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