Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock: HS Management Partners LLC Decreases Holdings

Key Points

• HS Management Partners LLC reduced its Microsoft stake by 3.8% in the second quarter, selling 1,680 shares. The fund still held 42,766 shares worth approximately $15.95 million, representing 5.5% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 42 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $578.73, though insider selling and regulatory and hiring-related risks remain areas for investors to watch.

HS Management Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,766 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,680 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.5% of HS Management Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. HS Management Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $501.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $434.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Forty-two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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