R Squared Ltd Sells 4,371 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd. cut its Microsoft position by 61.8% in the second quarter, selling 4,371 shares and retaining 2,706 shares valued at approximately $1.01 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: 43 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $571.18.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, although insiders sold more than $71.4 million of stock over the past 90 days.

R Squared Ltd decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 61.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,706 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,371 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.5% of R Squared Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. R Squared Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,959,000. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,176,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 104,939 shares of the software giant's stock worth $39,144,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden Reserve Retirement LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 108.2% in the second quarter. Golden Reserve Retirement LLC now owns 14,176 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,288,000 after buying an additional 7,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $571.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $512.80 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $487.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $429.36. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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%.The company's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

Microsoft News Roundup

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 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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