Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Boosted by Generate Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its Microsoft stake by 57.6% in Q1, adding 183,263 shares and bringing its total to 501,263 shares worth about $185.6 million.
• Microsoft continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with several large investors expanding or initiating positions and 71.13% of the stock now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Despite some concerns about AI-related capex, margin pressure, and regulatory/legal issues, Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates and posting 18.3% year-over-year revenue growth.

Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 57.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 501,263 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 183,263 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 9.1% of Generate Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Generate Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $185,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th 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. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft shares bounced as the broader memory and semiconductor market stabilized, helping relieve some of the pressure tied to AI infrastructure and component-cost fears.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and other bullish commentators said the recent tech selloff may be a buying opportunity, arguing Microsoft remains a core AI leader despite near-term volatility. Dan Ives Says Microsoft And Meta Are Being Treated Like 'Bear Market' Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft was mentioned in new partnerships and product integrations, including Commvault, PitchBook, FPT, and ICON plc, reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI ecosystem. Microsoft Just Made Commvault a Native Azure Service. Here Is How to Play CVLT Stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also drew attention from investors after Michael Burry disclosed a long position, which some traders viewed as a contrarian buy signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles noted analysts still like the stock long term, but Wall Street remains focused on whether AI spending is destroying near-term margins and free cash flow. Wall Street Analysts Think Microsoft (MSFT) Is a Good Investment: Is It?
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel cut its Microsoft price target and warned that FY27 gross margin estimates may be too high because Azure growth is coming with heavier capex and margin pressure. Microsoft’s Stock Is Crippled
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft announced another worldwide Xbox price increase, citing soaring memory and storage costs, which adds to concerns that hardware inflation is squeezing the gaming business.
• Negative Sentiment: New legal and regulatory pressure also weighed on the stock, including an Italy antitrust probe into Microsoft 365 pricing and new shareholder class-action notices over alleged investor misinformation.

Microsoft Trading Up 5.7%

MSFT opened at $372.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.11. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $410.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.47.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Phillip Securities raised Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Arete Research increased their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $502.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

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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