Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 34,077 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 2.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 34,077 shares. The firm now owns 1.42 million shares valued at approximately $528.1 million, representing 3.6% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft maintains strong analyst support, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds, producing a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $564.27.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 143,009 shares worth approximately $71.4 million during the latest quarter.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,415,755 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 34,077 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $528,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,380 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,333,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,625 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,217,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Atlantic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 8.1% in the second quarter. Liberty Atlantic Advisors LLC now owns 615 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the second quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 4,683 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JM2 Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the second quarter. JM2 Capital Inc. now owns 12,090 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,510,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. CLSA reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure and AI businesses remain the primary bullish catalysts. Analysts point to accelerating cloud growth, broad enterprise adoption and Microsoft’s distribution advantage through Azure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot. These Magnificent Seven Members Still Look Cheap
• Positive Sentiment: Causaly expanded its collaboration with Microsoft, making its agentic scientific-research tools available within Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 and Teams. The deal supports Microsoft’s strategy of adding specialized AI workflows to its enterprise software ecosystem. Causaly is Now Available in Microsoft Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s 8% quarterly dividend increase reinforces its strong cash generation and provides shareholder support, although the company continues to invest heavily in cloud and AI infrastructure. Microsoft Slips as Its Quarterly Dividend Climbs 8%
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman called recent reports of concerning model behavior at OpenAI a “serious situation” and emphasized the need for controllable, human-aligned AI. The comments highlight Microsoft’s safety focus but also underscore reputational and product-liability risks across the sector. OpenAI's latest AI revelation is a serious situation
• Negative Sentiment: Unsealed filings reportedly include Microsoft and OpenAI employees’ concerns that AI training on millions of news articles could amount to the “largest theft of labor in human history.” The disclosures may weaken the companies’ fair-use defense and increase potential litigation, licensing and regulatory costs. OpenAI, Microsoft executives' quotes on AI training threaten copyright defense
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of insider selling added to near-term sentiment pressure, while Microsoft faces competitive challenges from Salesforce’s AIforce and ongoing debate over whether its substantial AI spending will generate adequate returns. Microsoft Trading Down After Insider Selling

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $493.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $466.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $422.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

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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