Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Purchased by Fire Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Fire Capital Management increased its Microsoft stake by 17.8% in the second quarter, holding 18,903 shares valued at approximately $7.05 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Wall Street remains broadly optimistic: 43 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $569.29. Analysts cite strong Azure and enterprise AI growth, though high infrastructure spending and capacity constraints remain risks.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year, and beat earnings expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while shares recently traded near $516.

Fire Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,903 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,851 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of Fire Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Fire Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $12,235,785,000 after acquiring an additional 458,014 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,715,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $569.29.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled a redesigned Copilot “super app” that combines access to Office applications with coding tools, autonomous AI agents and an Autopilot feature. The initiative is aimed primarily at business users and could improve enterprise adoption, usage and monetization of Microsoft’s AI offerings. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its Microsoft price target to $570, citing the company’s shift toward enterprise AI agents and a billing model tied more closely to customer usage. Other recent analyst targets have also moved higher, reinforcing expectations for sustained Azure and AI growth. Oppenheimer target article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors appear more confident that Microsoft can benefit from AI without depending on a single large-model provider. Its Azure cloud platform, Microsoft 365 ecosystem and enterprise distribution provide multiple avenues for converting AI investment into recurring revenue. MarketWatch article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy bullish options activity, including a large call spread, suggests traders are positioning for additional upside. Technical analysts identified a potential move toward approximately $555, although this is market positioning rather than a fundamental forecast. Barchart options article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market gains, led by AI stocks, provided an additional tailwind. However, elevated oil prices, Treasury yields and uncertainty over potential Federal Reserve policy changes remain important macroeconomic risks.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is moving away from a consumer-focused personal-assistant strategy and concentrating Copilot on workplace use. The usage-based approach could unlock greater revenue, but it may also make sales less predictable than traditional subscriptions if customer adoption is slower than expected. Financial Post article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to monitor Microsoft’s substantial AI infrastructure spending, data-center capacity constraints and a reported 277-job reduction in Washington. These factors could pressure near-term margins even as Azure demand remains strong.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $516.17 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $477.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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