Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Acquired by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

Key Points

• New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its Microsoft stake by 14.7% in the second quarter, adding 50,314 shares for a total of 392,261 shares valued at approximately $146.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 43 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy, with an average price target of $592.15 and a Moderate Buy consensus. The company’s latest quarter beat expectations, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year.
• Microsoft faces competing catalysts and risks. Azure growth, AI monetization, custom silicon and healthcare AI support the outlook, while heavy AI infrastructure spending, operational delays and recent insider selling could pressure margins or investor confidence; the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.98 per share.

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 14.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 392,261 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 50,314 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Microsoft were worth $146,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,306,443,000. Amundi raised its position 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 worth $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $592.15.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7%

MSFT opened at $524.51 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $508.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $446.17. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG 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.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft Company 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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