Rempart Asset Management Inc. Buys 1,755 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Rempart Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 3.3%, purchasing 1,755 shares to hold 54,466 shares valued at approximately $20.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with $4.74 in adjusted EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue grew 17.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, assigning the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $564.27, though legal issues, insider selling, and questions about returns on AI infrastructure spending remain risks.

Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,466 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,755 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.2% of Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock worth $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2%

MSFT stock opened at $493.95 on Wednesday. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $449.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $417.29. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $528.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $564.27.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed that Azure is generating more than a $100 billion annualized revenue run rate and reorganized reporting around AI infrastructure and agents. Greater Azure transparency and accelerating demand could support revenue visibility and investor confidence. Microsoft Breaks Out Azure Sales at $100 Billion Annualized Pace, Reorganizes AI Segments
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is positioned at the center of a projected multitrillion-dollar AI infrastructure buildout, with Azure demand, large customer commitments, and its partnership with NVIDIA potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Nvidia, Microsoft at Center of $7 Trillion AI Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with recent buy or overweight ratings and a reported median price target of $540. However, the stock’s sharp advance and proximity to its prior high make continued gains dependent on cash-flow conversion and the payoff from heavy AI investment. Microsoft Stock Opinions on Recent Earnings and Business Reorganization
• Negative Sentiment: Two additional lawsuits from news organizations over the use of news content in AI training increase legal uncertainty around Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship and could create financial, reputational, or operational costs. Microsoft's OpenAI Partnership Draws Fresh Legal Fire
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s effort to measure the “useful yield” produced by each AI infrastructure dollar and watt highlights investor concerns about whether massive data-center spending will generate adequate returns. The scrutiny could pressure sentiment toward Microsoft and key supplier NVIDIA. Microsoft’s Useful Yield Test Raises the Stakes for NVIDIA’s AI Economics
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports also cite insider selling, including sales by Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, while separate reports of Outlook and Microsoft 365 service disruptions add modest execution and reliability concerns. Microsoft's OpenAI Partnership Draws Fresh Legal Fire

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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