Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Purchased by Empirical Finance LLC

Key Points

• Empirical Finance increased its Microsoft stake by 3.5% in the second quarter, owning 254,426 shares valued at approximately $94.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.89 and revenue of $92.28 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew 18.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Microsoft carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $609.54; several firms recently raised their targets to between $630 and $650.

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,426 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 8,683 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.9% of Empirical Finance LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $94,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 44.6% during the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock worth $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $9,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $507.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $551.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $513.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $438.62.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $630.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Griffin Securities lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore raised Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI demand remain the key bullish catalysts. Recent coverage highlights Azure revenue growth of 48%, above Microsoft’s 44%–45% forecast, with demand reportedly exceeding available capacity. Strong cloud growth, expanding Copilot adoption, and a reported $677 billion contract backlog support the view that Microsoft can monetize its AI investments. Microsoft Delivers Strong Azure Growth as AI Demand Exceeds Supply
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and long-term investors continue to favor Microsoft’s scale and financial quality. Commentary points to Microsoft’s high-margin Azure platform, OpenAI partnership, prudent infrastructure expansion, and durable competitive position. Bill Ackman and other investors continue to view MSFT as a long-term compounder, while Microsoft’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with revenue up 18.8% year over year to $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89. Microsoft’s Prudent Approach to the AI Infrastructure Buildout
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding enterprise AI relationships. Estée Lauder selected Microsoft’s cloud, data, and AI tools to unify data and support personalized customer experiences. The deal reinforces Azure’s enterprise relevance, although its financial contribution to Microsoft was not disclosed. Estée Lauder Partners With Microsoft on AI and Data Tools
• Negative Sentiment: AI financing and cash-flow concerns are weighing on mega-cap technology stocks. Microsoft’s roughly $25 billion bond offering and heavy data-center spending have prompted debate about leverage and returns on AI infrastructure. Recent coverage notes that free cash flow fell to about $18.6 billion as capital expenditures increased, making investors more sensitive to execution and funding risks. AI Bond Funding Might Change the Case for Investing in Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Market-wide technology weakness amplified the pressure. The Nasdaq declined as investors reassessed expensive AI-linked stocks, while Oracle’s $10 billion debt sale revived concerns that aggressive AI buildouts may require substantial borrowing. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet and low debt-to-equity ratio distinguish it from weaker peers, but the sector-wide risk-off move still affected MSFT. Oracle Declines as AI Debt Worries Return

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 145,504 shares of company stock valued at $73,016,924. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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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