Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Increased by Triple Frond Partners LLC

Key Points

• Triple Frond Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 44.7% in Q1, now owning 403,043 shares worth approximately $151.30 million, making it the largest holding in their investment portfolio.
• CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares in early September for about $75.32 million, resulting in a 15.87% decrease in his ownership of Microsoft stock.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Microsoft's stock, with estimates now ranging from $612.54 to $650.00, solidifying the company's position as a strong investment opportunity.

Triple Frond Partners LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 44.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 403,043 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 124,585 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 20.4% of Triple Frond Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Triple Frond Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $151,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $259,539,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,314,509 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded up $8.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $509.90. 23,610,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,166,356. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $510.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The firm's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.