Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Has $55.22 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas cut its Microsoft stake by 47.3% in the second quarter, selling 132,970 shares and retaining 148,023 shares valued at $55.22 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: 43 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $569.29. The company also exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, up 17.7% year over year.
• Microsoft’s growth outlook is centered on Azure and AI monetization, although heavy AI infrastructure costs and recent Xbox restructuring present execution risks. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while insiders sold roughly $71.4 million of stock over the past quarter.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 47.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,023 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 132,970 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 0.9% of Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $55,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Partners in Financial Planning grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 2,593 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. FWG Holdings LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,047,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequent Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Barclays lowered their target price on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. CLSA reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore set a $528.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $569.29.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $575 from $530. The analyst expects Azure, Copilot and other AI services to accelerate revenue while Microsoft maintains resilient margins without needing excessive spending on AI models. Microsoft upgraded as analyst sees steady margins
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft plans to invest more than $10 billion in the Gulf through 2030, funding cloud and AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, connectivity and workforce development across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. The spending expands Azure’s international capacity and could create long-term commercial opportunities. Microsoft plans Gulf investment
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization remains the central bullish thesis. Microsoft is pursuing broader Copilot adoption, including discounts of roughly 30% to 50% for large enterprise customers, while management highlights independent AI safety evaluators and software that controls AI agents as emerging opportunities. Microsoft plans larger Copilot discounts
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft and Coinbase disrupted an AI-enabled phishing network, reinforcing Microsoft’s cybersecurity credentials. However, the operation does not eliminate the persistent economic incentive for criminals to compromise accounts. Microsoft cuts AI phishing supply chain
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s collaboration with Photonic on quantum-computing resource estimation and its decision to give DARPA access to its Majorana 2 system enhance its technology and government relationships, but these projects are unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Microsoft opens quantum system to DARPA testing
• Negative Sentiment: Xbox is cutting 268 positions and transferring the next Halo game to Activision as part of a gaming restructuring. The move may improve efficiency but raises concerns about Microsoft’s gaming execution and follows recent layoffs. Microsoft cuts Xbox roles
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology stocks weakened, while scrutiny of data-center water consumption and Microsoft’s heavy AI infrastructure spending adds to concerns about costs, regulation and execution.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $500.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. 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 $3.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $473.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.91.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued 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 is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.83%.

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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