Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Sold by Oak Ridge Investments LLC

Key Points

• Oak Ridge Investments cut its Microsoft stake by 56.2% in the second quarter, selling 196,906 shares and retaining 153,252 shares worth approximately $57.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, producing an annualized yield of 0.8%.
• Investor focus remains on Microsoft’s enterprise AI strategy, including its redesigned Copilot platform and Azure growth. Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with 43 Buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating alongside an average price target of $569.29.

Oak Ridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 56.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153,252 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 196,906 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.2% of Oak Ridge Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Oak Ridge Investments LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493,786 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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 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 Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $516.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business's 50 day moving average price is $477.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.17. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, 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 a total of 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $569.29.

About Microsoft

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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