Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Acquired by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 5.2% in the second quarter, adding 13,583 shares to reach 273,833 shares valued at approximately $102.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, beating estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft’s AI expansion remains a major catalyst, but investors face risks from heavy data-center spending, valuation concerns, questions surrounding OpenAI’s revenue figures, labor-program restrictions and an antitrust probe into its gaming businesses.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,833 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 13,583 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $102,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Microsoft by 64.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its AI relationship with Nvidia and introduced the $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by Nvidia’s RTX technology. The device is designed to run AI models and agents locally, potentially strengthening Windows’ role in the emerging “agentic” PC market. Is Microsoft Stock a Buy After Expanding Its Nvidia Partnership?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to cite Azure momentum, Copilot demand and Microsoft’s large backlog as evidence that its more than $175 billion AI infrastructure investment could generate sustainable returns. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 price target, while other analysts have issued targets as high as $635. Microsoft’s Integrated AI Stack and Enterprise Copilot Flywheel Justify Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced that fiscal 2027 first-quarter results will be released after the market closes on October 28. Investors are likely to focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI capital expenditures, free cash flow and forward guidance. Microsoft Announces Quarterly Earnings Release Date
• Negative Sentiment: The Labor Department suspended Microsoft from the Permanent Labor Certification program used to help foreign workers obtain U.S. permanent residency, alleging misuse of worker programs. The restriction could raise hiring costs and, over time, make it harder to retain specialized AI talent, although the near-term earnings impact is expected to be limited. U.S. Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From Green-Card Labor Program
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Microsoft’s valuation is less attractive after its strong run, while heavy AI data-center spending may pressure free cash flow. Reports also questioned the reliability of OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue figures, adding uncertainty around a key AI partner. Oracle, Microsoft Shares Decline as OpenAI’s ARR Is Questioned
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned gaming companies over their use of virtual currencies, creating an additional regulatory overhang for the Xbox business. Italy Launches EU-Backed Probe Into Microsoft-Owned Gaming Companies

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of MSFT opened at $522.61 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $499.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $434.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Melius Research set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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