Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan

Key Points

• Nissay Asset Management Japan reduced its Microsoft stake by 2.4% in the second quarter, selling 40,531 shares and retaining 1.63 million shares valued at approximately $607.3 million. Institutional investors still own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 43 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $592.15, but investors are watching whether Azure and AI growth can justify heavy infrastructure spending and support margins.

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,628,189 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 40,531 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.6% of Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan's holdings in Microsoft were worth $607,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 18,830 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 473,863 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $176,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,704 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $20,190,000. Prosperitas Financial LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,107,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,988,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and earnings expectations remain strong. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and forecast approximately 44.8% Azure growth. Analysts expect quarterly results to be broadly in line with estimates, with Azure strength potentially offsetting heavy investment in AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Forecast: BofA Reaffirms Buy Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom silicon and security businesses could support future cloud margins. The Maia AI accelerator and other internally developed chips may reduce reliance on Nvidia, improve cost control and retain more economics from Microsoft’s AI services. Investors are also watching whether security growth helps offset data-center expenses. Microsoft: Security And Silicon Set The Stage For Cloud Margin Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: Medical AI results add another potential growth opportunity. Microsoft’s MAI-DxO reportedly diagnosed complex cases more than twice as often as general physicians in a simulation, strengthening the company’s positioning in healthcare AI, although commercialization and regulatory hurdles remain. Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose sequentially like a doctor
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is a major near-term catalyst. Investors will focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization, capital expenditures, backlog conversion and management’s outlook. The stock is trading near its yearly high, raising expectations for a strong forecast. Microsoft's Earnings Problem: Even Great May Not Be Enough
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and market conditions could pressure valuation and margins. Investors have recently sold some technology shares when companies raised infrastructure budgets, while a weaker overall market and higher oil prices have added volatility. Microsoft’s large data-center investment must translate into revenue growth to justify the spending. Microsoft Earnings Report To Focus On AI Momentum, Capex
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and product concerns remain. Microsoft withdrew from a U.K. data-center deal because of power-delivery delays, and Xbox cloud-streaming price changes have generated customer friction. Former CEO Bill Gates has also warned about AI safety risks, potentially increasing regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft pulls out of UK Nscale data centre deal over power delay

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $524.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $508.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $446.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. CLSA reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Forty-three equities 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $592.15.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Profile

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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