Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd

Key Points

• Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd increased its Microsoft stake by 12.6% in the first quarter, buying 3,610 additional shares and bringing its holding to 32,343 shares worth about $12.0 million.
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, yielding about 0.9%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with 41 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy rating. However, insider selling and headline risks around AI-related lawsuits and competition from customers building their own AI tools could weigh on sentiment.

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,343 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,610 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Walker Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 12,190 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,512,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bayban boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 5,712 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,114,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the first quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 12,366 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,577,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.5% during the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 28,671 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,613,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Financial raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 20,656 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,646,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $385.10. The company had a trading volume of 24,605,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,511,868. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50 day moving average is $402.33 and its 200-day moving average is $414.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Arete Research lifted their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, China Renaissance reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $559.84.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus lowered its price target on Microsoft but kept a buy rating, still implying roughly 32% upside from current levels. Benzinga / The Fly report on Argus price target cut
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to Microsoft’s AI and Azure buildout as a long-term driver, with one piece arguing that AI data centers are effectively “pre-sold,” suggesting strong demand for Microsoft’s infrastructure spending. Article on AI spending returns
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings showed the company beat expectations on both revenue and EPS, reinforcing that the core business remains healthy despite the stock’s weak price action.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Xbox/gaming unit is facing restructuring under Asha Sharma, including layoffs and tough decisions about studio strategy, which adds uncertainty but could improve efficiency over time. FT article on Xbox changes
• Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve named Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to a jobs-and-productivity task force, keeping Microsoft in the policy conversation around AI and labor, but with no immediate financial impact. Yahoo Finance report on Fed task force
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued notices about a securities fraud class action tied to alleged AI/Copilot misrepresentations, increasing headline risk and investor caution. PR Newswire lawsuit notice
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Starbucks is building internal AI to replace some Microsoft software underscore a broader threat: customers may use AI to reduce reliance on Microsoft’s enterprise products, which could pressure future software revenue. MarketBeat Starbucks AI cost-cutting article
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s AI expansion is also drawing criticism over rising emissions and heavy capital spending, feeding worries that the company is paying more for growth while investors question the payback period. TechXplore emissions report

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).

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