Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Acquired by Rockbridge Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rockbridge Asset Management acquired 30,805 Microsoft shares worth approximately $11.5 million, making MSFT its sixth-largest holding and 7.4% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, or $3.92 annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $578.73 price target, though Microsoft faces risks from green-card sponsorship uncertainty, gaming-related antitrust scrutiny and recent insider selling.

Rockbridge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,805 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $11,491,000. Microsoft makes up about 7.4% of Rockbridge Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, CLSA reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $535.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $501.15 and a 200-day moving average of $434.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. 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 capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Profile

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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