SSI Investment Management LLC Buys 6,643 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• SSI Investment Management purchased 6,643 Microsoft shares valued at approximately $2.48 million, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft insiders sold 143,009 shares worth $71.4 million during the last quarter, including sales by CEO Judson Althoff and EVP Amy Hood.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $578.73.

SSI Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,643 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,478,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Microsoft by 138.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents 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 Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Melius Research set a $665.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. 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 $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $501.15 and its 200 day moving average is $435.10.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. 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 payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

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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