Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Greenwood Gearhart LLC

Key Points

• Greenwood Gearhart increased its Microsoft stake by 7.2% in the second quarter, owning 114,410 shares worth approximately $42.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share on $90.01 billion in revenue, beating estimates, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, an 8% increase.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: 43 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $569.29. Azure demand, AI infrastructure expansion and Copilot growth are key catalysts, although executives recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Greenwood Gearhart LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,410 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 7,673 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Greenwood Gearhart LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Greenwood Gearhart LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $12,235,785,000 after acquiring an additional 458,014 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $497.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $475.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.54. 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 posted 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is increasing. Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $575, citing Azure and Copilot growth, durable margins, and a path for AI spending to produce stronger revenue. Jefferies also reaffirmed its Buy rating, while other analysts highlighted potential upside. Why These Wall Street Analysts Think Microsoft Stock Is Getting Back on Track
• Positive Sentiment: Azure demand remains the central growth catalyst. Reports point to a roughly $678 billion backlog and the need for Microsoft to add data-center capacity quickly enough to serve existing customers. Azure Red Hat OpenShift for Azure Government also received DoD Impact Level 5 certification, expanding its use among government and highly regulated customers. Azure Red Hat OpenShift Achieves IL5 Certification
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. The company plans to invest more than $10 billion in Gulf-region cloud, AI, connectivity and cybersecurity infrastructure through 2030, potentially supporting long-term regional demand. Microsoft Plans Gulf Investment

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Evercore set a $528.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $569.29.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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