Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Acquired by Jupiter Topco LLC

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC acquired 18.6 million Microsoft shares worth approximately $6.93 billion, making Microsoft 2.8% of its portfolio and its fourth-largest holding.
• Microsoft shares traded near $533.52, following strong quarterly results that beat estimates, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $590.30.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s AI growth prospects against heavy capital spending, infrastructure constraints and potential pressure on free cash flow.

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,575,933 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,928,664,000. Microsoft makes up 2.8% of Jupiter Topco LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Jupiter Topco LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Microsoft as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $3,652,000. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,616,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft received a bullish signal ahead of its Oct. 28 earnings report after Bernstein raised its price target to $662 and maintained an “Outperform” rating. Investors are watching Azure growth, commercial remaining performance obligations, and whether Microsoft’s more than $115 billion in recent capital spending is translating into AI revenue. Microsoft Given New Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled its Maia 300 AI accelerator and plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning next year. The chip could reduce Microsoft’s reliance on Nvidia and lower inference costs, supporting the long-term economics of its AI infrastructure strategy. Microsoft's New AI Chip Could Change the Economics of AI
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced security controls for enterprise AI agents and emphasized that frontier models can pose insider-threat-like risks. The initiative could strengthen demand for Microsoft’s security products as businesses adopt agentic AI. Microsoft Introduces Security Features for AI Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Microsoft as a broad way to monetize AI through Azure, Copilot, software subscriptions, and security. Expectations call for Azure growth of roughly 45%, though capacity constraints could limit near-term upside. Microsoft Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft withdrew as anchor customer from Nscale’s planned U.K. AI data center, reportedly because of electricity-grid and power-supply delays. The decision highlights infrastructure constraints but may also reflect disciplined capital allocation; third-party operators could benefit if hyperscalers build less capacity themselves. Microsoft Pulls Out of U.K. Data Center Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s aggressive AI capital expenditures could pressure free cash flow and margins if Azure monetization does not accelerate. One analyst also said Maia remains well behind Nvidia and Google’s custom chips, limiting its near-term competitive impact. Microsoft AI Bull Case and Valuation Risks

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $533.52 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $506.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $442.31. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company 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 31.98%. The firm's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $590.30.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% 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 sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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