Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $1.07 Billion Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its Microsoft stake by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 231,440 shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,214,496 shares worth about $1.07 billion.
• Microsoft remains heavily owned by institutions, with 71.13% of shares held by institutional investors. Several other funds also modestly increased their positions.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.27 per share on revenue of $82.89 billion, both ahead of estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share and received mostly bullish analyst ratings.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,214,496 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 231,440 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.7% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,070,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BLVD Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $421.92 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $398.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

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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