Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Graphene Investments SAS

Key Points

• Graphene Investments SAS increased its Microsoft stake by 25.4% in the first quarter, acquiring 3,200 additional shares for a total position worth approximately $5.85 billion. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported a strong quarter, with revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24; revenue grew 17.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $558.64 price target. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, while investors continue to monitor AI spending, data-center constraints, regulatory scrutiny and legal risks.

Graphene Investments SAS grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,800 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.9% of Graphene Investments SAS's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Graphene Investments SAS's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its position in shares of 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. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock worth $131,750,000 after buying an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $464.72 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $397.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $405.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Microsoft from $646.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. China Renaissance reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Arete Research raised their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $558.64.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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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