Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Purchased by Chase Investment Counsel Corp

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Chase Investment Counsel more than doubled its Microsoft position by 118.7% in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Analysts remain bullish: Microsoft has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 48 analysts and an average price target of $578.73. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling while the dividend increased: Insiders sold 143,009 shares worth $71.4 million over the past 90 days, while Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.

Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 118.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,256 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Microsoft by 138.8% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock worth $502,077,000 after buying an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, 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 value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $529.30 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $495.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $432.04. 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 $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and higher price target: Melius Research upgraded Microsoft from “Hold” to “Buy” and set a $665 target, arguing that corporate concerns about AI safety, governance and security could increase demand for Microsoft’s enterprise tools. BNP Paribas also reportedly raised its forecast to $604, citing Azure growth, Copilot consumption-based pricing and the integration of OpenAI-related revenue. Melius Research upgrades Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud momentum remain the core catalyst: Investors continue to focus on strong Azure demand, expanding AI infrastructure requirements and Copilot adoption. Microsoft is increasingly viewed as a relatively dependable enterprise AI leader, with its installed base, cloud platform and security products potentially giving it an advantage as businesses seek trusted AI solutions. Microsoft viewed as an AI leader
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Windows and Surface event: Microsoft’s October 7 event will highlight on-device AI and could provide updates on Windows, Surface and Copilot monetization. The event is being watched for evidence that AI can reinvigorate the devices business while complementing faster-growing cloud operations. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal AI model shift: Microsoft is reportedly steering employees away from Anthropic’s Claude toward internally developed AI models. This could reduce costs and dependence on outside providers, but investors will watch whether Microsoft maintains performance and enterprise customer confidence.
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include valuation, spending and rates: Microsoft’s strong recent rally has increased valuation concerns, while substantial capital expenditures needed for data centers could pressure free cash flow. Rising Treasury yields may also weigh on richly valued AI stocks. Rising Treasury yields and AI stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Isolated selling signals: A member of Congress disclosed a sale of Microsoft shares ahead of earnings season. The trade is a limited sentiment indicator rather than a fundamental development, but it may attract attention after reports that Microsoft insiders have sold shares without reported purchases in recent months. Congressman sells Microsoft 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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