Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP significantly increased its Microsoft holdings by 127.1%, now owning 38,273 shares valued at approximately $14.37 million.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Microsoft, with Bank of America setting a new target at $640.00 and giving it a "buy" rating.
• Microsoft's most recent earnings report revealed a profit of $3.65 EPS, surpassing expectations and indicating a revenue increase of 18.1% year-over-year.

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 127.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,273 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 21,417 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.5% of Quantbot Technologies LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fosun International Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.5% in the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Guidance Point Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the software giant's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $8.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $509.90. 23,610,304 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,166,356. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day moving average price is $510.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $453.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.