Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Decreased by Veritas Asset Management LLP

Key Points

• Veritas Asset Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 12.9% in the second quarter, selling 166,961 shares and retaining 1.13 million shares valued at approximately $422.1 million. Microsoft remains 7.8% of Veritas’ portfolio and its seventh-largest holding.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 18.8% year over year to $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, exceeding analyst expectations. Azure and AI demand remain major growth drivers, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $609.54.
• Investors remain focused on AI spending and financing risks as Microsoft increases data-center investment and recently issued roughly $25 billion in bonds, contributing to cash-flow concerns. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while shares were trading down 2.8% at about $507.12.

Veritas Asset Management LLP lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,131,674 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 166,961 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 7.8% of Veritas Asset Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Veritas Asset Management LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $422,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $112,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the software giant's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the software giant's stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI demand remain the key bullish catalysts. Recent coverage highlights Azure revenue growth of 48%, above Microsoft’s 44%–45% forecast, with demand reportedly exceeding available capacity. Strong cloud growth, expanding Copilot adoption, and a reported $677 billion contract backlog support the view that Microsoft can monetize its AI investments. Microsoft Delivers Strong Azure Growth as AI Demand Exceeds Supply
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and long-term investors continue to favor Microsoft’s scale and financial quality. Commentary points to Microsoft’s high-margin Azure platform, OpenAI partnership, prudent infrastructure expansion, and durable competitive position. Bill Ackman and other investors continue to view MSFT as a long-term compounder, while Microsoft’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with revenue up 18.8% year over year to $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89. Microsoft’s Prudent Approach to the AI Infrastructure Buildout
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding enterprise AI relationships. Estée Lauder selected Microsoft’s cloud, data, and AI tools to unify data and support personalized customer experiences. The deal reinforces Azure’s enterprise relevance, although its financial contribution to Microsoft was not disclosed. Estée Lauder Partners With Microsoft on AI and Data Tools
• Negative Sentiment: AI financing and cash-flow concerns are weighing on mega-cap technology stocks. Microsoft’s roughly $25 billion bond offering and heavy data-center spending have prompted debate about leverage and returns on AI infrastructure. Recent coverage notes that free cash flow fell to about $18.6 billion as capital expenditures increased, making investors more sensitive to execution and funding risks. AI Bond Funding Might Change the Case for Investing in Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Market-wide technology weakness amplified the pressure. The Nasdaq declined as investors reassessed expensive AI-linked stocks, while Oracle’s $10 billion debt sale revived concerns that aggressive AI buildouts may require substantial borrowing. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet and low debt-to-equity ratio distinguish it from weaker peers, but the sector-wide risk-off move still affected MSFT. Oracle Declines as AI Debt Worries Return

Microsoft Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $507.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $513.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $438.62. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $551.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $610.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% 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. Insiders have sold 145,504 shares of company stock valued at $73,016,924 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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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