TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC initiated a Microsoft position of 7,441 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million, making up 1.5% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 42 Buy, four Hold and two Sell ratings; Microsoft has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $581.80.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, beating estimates, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, for an annualized yield of approximately 0.7%.

TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,441 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,776,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.5% of TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in 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 buying an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Evercore upgraded Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $581.80.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $543.45 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $503.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $437.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 strengthens Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation Maia 300 custom AI processor, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more AI-generated tokens per megawatt or dollar than leading GPU-based systems. The company plans multi-gigawatt deployments beginning in 2027, potentially lowering inference costs, improving Azure margins and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD. Microsoft Reveals Next-Gen Maia 300 Custom AI Chip For Widespread Deployment
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains exceptionally strong. Microsoft reportedly signed more than $130 billion in data-center leases during the quarter, signaling aggressive capacity expansion to meet demand for Azure and AI services. Management has also indicated that demand continues to exceed available capacity, while its commercial backlog has reached a record level. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment is supportive ahead of earnings. Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects greater differentiation in software results. Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on October 28, with consensus estimates of approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Microsoft price target raised to $600 from $512 at Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: New AI products broaden Microsoft’s growth opportunities. The Decision-1 model is described as faster and cheaper to operate than competing systems, while new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices add AI features, 5G connectivity and improved battery efficiency.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing AI growth against spending. The Maia rollout could improve long-term economics, but Microsoft is committing substantial capital to data centers and chips. Analysts are monitoring whether shrinking free cash flow and high infrastructure costs offset Azure and Copilot growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. Microsoft is conducting another round of layoffs in Israel, its research chief Peter Lee is leaving for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, and Norway fined subsidiary Xandr €8.6 million over Grindr data sharing. Nadella and President Brad Smith are also calling for stronger AI safeguards, highlighting potential compliance costs and liability risks.

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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