Rydar Equities Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Rydar Equities increased its Microsoft stake by 11.1% in the second quarter to 12,135 shares valued at approximately $4.76 million. Microsoft represents 2.7% of the fund’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly results above expectations, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, representing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $564.27 price target.
• Microsoft shares recently traded at $505.41, near their 12-month high, while insiders—including executives Takeshi Numoto and Judson Althoff—sold shares. The company continues investing heavily in AI and data-center capacity, creating long-term growth potential but also execution and valuation risks.

Rydar Equities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,135 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Rydar Equities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Rydar Equities Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $12,235,785,000 after acquiring an additional 458,014 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $505.41 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $458.23 and its 200-day moving average is $420.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft published a 37-page draft code of conduct for its in-house AI models, emphasizing that advanced AI should remain under meaningful human control and should not deceive people, resist shutdown, or hack systems. Investors appeared to interpret the framework as a way to address regulatory and reputational risks while supporting enterprise adoption. Microsoft drafts code of conduct to keep its AI under human control
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman called for greater coordination among leading AI companies, including third-party disclosure of model capabilities. The move may help Microsoft position itself as a responsible AI leader as safety concerns and potential regulation intensify. Microsoft AI chief: Now’s the time for top labs to coordinate on safety
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remains supportive of Microsoft’s fundamentals, citing Azure growth, more than $100 billion in annual Azure revenue, strong Copilot adoption, and a large cloud backlog. Bank of America reportedly raised its price target to $600, while other analysts maintain Buy or Outperform ratings.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is one of the few major hyperscalers still maintaining share repurchases while expanding AI infrastructure, potentially supporting per-share earnings if cash generation remains strong. The End of Big Tech Buybacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft plans a substantial expansion of global data-center capacity to meet AI and cloud demand. The investment reinforces long-term growth prospects, but returns will depend on converting heavy spending on power, land, and computing equipment into durable revenue and margins. Microsoft to triple data centre capacity
• Negative Sentiment: Chipmaker weakness, rising Treasury yields, and concerns that AI development may need to slow pressured the wider technology sector. These factors could weigh on Microsoft’s valuation despite its relative strength and defensive enterprise-software exposure. S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Drop on Chipmaker Weakness

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. CLSA reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 31st. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $564.27.

About Microsoft

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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