Smith Group Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Smith Group Asset Management increased its Microsoft position by 6.6% in the second quarter to 186,902 shares valued at approximately $69.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.74 per share, beating analyst expectations, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $569.29.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, but investors are weighing strong AI and Azure prospects against heavy infrastructure spending, data-center constraints and recent insider stock sales.

Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,902 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 11,633 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.8% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $69,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $8,619,211,000 after acquiring an additional 12,493,786 shares in 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew 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. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. Argus lowered their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $569.29.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $516.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $477.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share 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 period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled a redesigned Copilot “super app” that combines access to Office applications with coding tools, autonomous AI agents and an Autopilot feature. The initiative is aimed primarily at business users and could improve enterprise adoption, usage and monetization of Microsoft’s AI offerings. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its Microsoft price target to $570, citing the company’s shift toward enterprise AI agents and a billing model tied more closely to customer usage. Other recent analyst targets have also moved higher, reinforcing expectations for sustained Azure and AI growth. Oppenheimer target article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors appear more confident that Microsoft can benefit from AI without depending on a single large-model provider. Its Azure cloud platform, Microsoft 365 ecosystem and enterprise distribution provide multiple avenues for converting AI investment into recurring revenue. MarketWatch article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy bullish options activity, including a large call spread, suggests traders are positioning for additional upside. Technical analysts identified a potential move toward approximately $555, although this is market positioning rather than a fundamental forecast. Barchart options article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market gains, led by AI stocks, provided an additional tailwind. However, elevated oil prices, Treasury yields and uncertainty over potential Federal Reserve policy changes remain important macroeconomic risks.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is moving away from a consumer-focused personal-assistant strategy and concentrating Copilot on workplace use. The usage-based approach could unlock greater revenue, but it may also make sales less predictable than traditional subscriptions if customer adoption is slower than expected. Financial Post article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to monitor Microsoft’s substantial AI infrastructure spending, data-center capacity constraints and a reported 277-job reduction in Washington. These factors could pressure near-term margins even as Azure demand remains strong.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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