Mystic Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Mystic Asset Management acquired 50,915 Microsoft shares worth approximately $18.99 million, making Microsoft its second-largest portfolio holding at 4.1%.
• Microsoft has strong institutional backing, with institutional investors and hedge funds owning 71.13% of the stock. Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $581.80.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, both exceeding expectations, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98, or $3.92 annually.

Mystic Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 50,915 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $18,992,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.1% of Mystic Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in 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 valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 worth $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position 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 valued at $10,715,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Citigroup raised Microsoft from a "market outperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $581.80.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $503.23 and a 200-day moving average of $437.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 strengthens Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 custom AI processor, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems. The company plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning in 2027, potentially lowering inference costs, improving Azure margins and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD. Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Maia 300 Custom AI Chip For Widespread Deployment
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains exceptionally strong. Microsoft reportedly signed more than $130 billion in data-center leases during the quarter, signaling aggressive capacity expansion to meet demand for Azure and AI services. Management has also indicated that demand continues to exceed available capacity, while its commercial backlog has reached a record level. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive ahead of earnings. Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects greater differentiation in software results. Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 28, with consensus estimates of approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Microsoft price target raised to $600 from $512 at Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: New AI products broaden Microsoft’s growth opportunities. The Decision-1 model is described as faster and cheaper to operate than competing systems, while new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices add AI features, 5G connectivity and improved battery efficiency.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing AI growth against spending. The Maia rollout could improve long-term economics, but Microsoft is committing substantial capital to data centers and chips. Analysts are monitoring whether shrinking free cash flow and high infrastructure costs offset Azure and Copilot growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in Israel, its research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Norway fined subsidiary Xandr €8.6 million over Grindr data sharing. Nadella and President Brad Smith are also calling for stronger AI safeguards, highlighting potential compliance costs and liability risks.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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