Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Increased by Occidental Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Occidental Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 43% in the second quarter, reaching 85,268 shares valued at approximately $31.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, beating analysts’ estimates, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft’s AI expansion and Azure momentum support the bullish outlook, but investors face risks from heavy AI infrastructure spending, valuation concerns, regulatory challenges and questions surrounding OpenAI’s financial metrics.

Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,268 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 25,650 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.2% of Occidental Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Occidental Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $10,852,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after buying an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Forty-one equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $522.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. The business's 50 day moving average price is $499.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were 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 owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

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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