Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 138.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.4% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $502,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. HSBC reduced their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Dbs Bank reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.64.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations: Azure revenue increased 43%, ahead of roughly 40% analyst expectations, and annual Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. The performance eased concerns that demand for AI infrastructure might be slowing. Microsoft tops quarterly cloud growth estimates
- Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings beat: Microsoft reported $4.74 in adjusted EPS versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and $90.01 billion in revenue versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue rose 17.7% year over year, while profit increased about 31%. Microsoft fourth-quarter earnings
- Positive Sentiment: AI monetization is accelerating: Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, while management described the next growth phase as a “per seat plus consumption” model. Investors viewed Azure and Copilot adoption as evidence that AI investments are translating into commercial demand.
- Positive Sentiment: Spending concerns moderated: Microsoft held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady and said it expects continued cash generation in fiscal 2027. Management also said GPU spending could be adjusted if demand weakens, helping counter fears of unchecked AI-related cash burn. Microsoft keeps capex forecast unchanged
- Positive Sentiment: Backlog and analyst support improved: Commercial remaining performance obligations reached a record $678 billion, up 84% year over year. RBC, Goldman Sachs, BMO, TD Cowen and DA Davidson were among firms maintaining positive ratings or raising targets.
- Neutral Sentiment: Xbox strategy: New gaming chief Asha Sharma aims to exceed peers’ margins by 2030 through Minecraft investment and partnerships, including in China. The plan could support longer-term profitability but remains execution-dependent. Microsoft Xbox margin plan
- Negative Sentiment: Risks remain: Wiz reported a cloud vulnerability that could have exposed Microsoft customers, while U.K. regulators are investigating Microsoft 365 subscription marketing. Several securities-fraud law firms also publicized shareholder lawsuits. These developments are potential overhangs, although they did not offset the earnings-driven optimism.
Microsoft Price Performance
MSFT stock opened at $451.10 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $397.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.
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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 33.07%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.
Microsoft Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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).
Featured Stories
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.
Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.
While Microsoft currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Robotics and automation are rapidly becoming essential infrastructure across healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and many other industries.
"Physical AI" is coming to the United States, and there are four ways that investors can gain exposure to this new robotics revolution. Plus, learn which seven companies are most positioned to benefit as intelligent robots enter the workforce.
Get This Free Report
