South Dakota Investment Council Has $170.74 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• South Dakota Investment Council increased its Microsoft stake by 2.4% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 461,233 shares valued at approximately $170.74 million. Microsoft represents 3.3% of the council’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share on $90.01 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations and representing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $560.27.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.64 dividend and a 0.7% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 37,310 shares worth approximately $17.26 million over the past 90 days.

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 461,233 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 10,641 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.3% of South Dakota Investment Council's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Microsoft were worth $170,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Arete Research boosted their target price on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus reduced their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $496.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $409.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $407.88. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman reaffirmed his bullish Azure thesis, arguing that continued capacity investment and Microsoft 365’s embedded customer base can support high-teens earnings growth. Microsoft Stock Rises as Ackman Reaffirms Azure Bet
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing accelerating Copilot adoption and infrastructure growth. Wells Fargo also maintained an overweight rating and lifted its target to $700, reinforcing the view that the stock’s AI-driven recovery has further upside. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft began gradually combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified AI platform. The planned “super app” could improve user adoption, cross-selling and Microsoft’s competitive position against ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Consumer and Enterprise Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft accepted IREN’s first AI data-center deployment under a $9.7 billion cloud agreement. The milestone supports Azure’s ability to secure additional computing capacity as AI infrastructure demand remains strong. IREN Hands Microsoft Its First AI Cloud Deployment
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly closing or restructuring numerous China offices and joint ventures, while retaining an Azure-linked presence. The move may reduce geopolitical exposure but could also limit access to the Chinese market. Microsoft Retreats in China
• Negative Sentiment: A report said Microsoft plans to cut carbon-removal purchases while AI-related emissions rise, creating potential reputational and environmental concerns. Microsoft Carbon Removal Purchases Report

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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