North Dakota State Investment Board Buys 4,146 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board increased its Microsoft stake by 1.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 4,146 shares to own 219,052 shares valued at approximately $81.7 million. Microsoft represents 3.3% of the board’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on MSFT. Forty-three analysts rate the stock a Buy, compared with four Holds and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $571.18.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, beating estimates and reflecting 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, or $3.92 annually, for a 0.8% yield.

North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,052 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 4,146 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.3% of North Dakota State Investment Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. North Dakota State Investment Board's holdings in Microsoft were worth $81,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,619,211,000 after acquiring an additional 12,493,786 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,521,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Forty-three equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $571.18.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $512.80 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $487.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is supporting MSFT. Wells Fargo added Microsoft to its Q4 Tactical Ideas list and reportedly raised its price target to $725, citing accelerating Azure growth and improving Copilot monetization. The bullish calls follow Microsoft’s strongest quarterly performance in decades and reflect growing confidence that AI spending is translating into revenue. What's Going On With Microsoft Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: New real-time AI voice models expand Microsoft’s addressable market. Microsoft launched three speech and transcription models, including MAI-Transcribe-2-Streaming, which can begin responding in roughly 320 milliseconds. The technology targets contact centers, multilingual assistants, live captions and other enterprise voice applications, potentially creating additional demand for Microsoft’s AI platform and cloud services. Microsoft Targets Contact Center Market With Real-Time AI Voice Models
• Positive Sentiment: Recent performance reinforces the AI growth narrative. Microsoft shares gained about 38% during the third quarter after earnings showed the fastest Azure growth in four years, driven by strong AI demand. Investors also point to expanding Copilot adoption, enterprise licensing opportunities and continued integration of AI agents into Microsoft’s software ecosystem. MSFT Stock Rallies 38% as Wall Street Sees Microsoft’s AI Spending Pay Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is experiencing senior leadership turnover. LinkedIn chief Ryan Roslansky and Microsoft Science president Peter Lee are expected to depart. Roslansky’s exit follows nearly 18 years with LinkedIn and Microsoft and adds to ongoing changes in the company’s AI leadership structure. Former LinkedIn chief Roslansky to leave Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and investment intensity remain key risks. Some commentary argues that Microsoft’s rally has increased reliance on a higher valuation multiple, while AI infrastructure spending may outpace free cash flow if compute prices decline or monetization disappoints. These concerns could limit upside even as Azure demand remains strong. The AI Revolution Could Be Microsoft’s Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Microsoft Company 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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