Mizuho Markets Cayman LP Takes $199.50 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought 534,822 Microsoft shares worth approximately $199.5 million, making Microsoft 7.5% of its portfolio and its fourth-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, beating analyst expectations, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, an 8% increase.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 43 analysts rating the stock a Buy and a consensus price target of $569.29. The bullish outlook centers on Azure and Copilot growth, although heavy AI infrastructure costs and Xbox restructuring remain concerns.

Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 534,822 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $199,499,000. Microsoft accounts for 7.5% of Mizuho Markets Cayman LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Partners in Financial Planning lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth 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 worth $4,047,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC grew its position 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 period. Friedenthal Financial raised its holdings in Microsoft by 6.2% during the first 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 boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

MSFT opened at $500.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $473.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.91. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.83%.

More Microsoft News

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Evercore set a $528.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $569.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company 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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