Montchanin Asset Management LLC Makes New $5.82 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Montchanin Asset Management initiated a $5.82 million Microsoft position, purchasing 15,729 shares. Microsoft now represents about 5.9% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, beating estimates and marking 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27.
• Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.64 payout and a 0.7% yield. Despite strong AI and Azure prospects, investors remain concerned about the effects of heavy AI infrastructure spending on free cash flow and cloud margins.

Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,729 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $5,822,000. Microsoft makes up about 5.9% of Montchanin Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. DZ Bank reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.27.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

MSFT opened at $495.40 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $411.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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