Two Sigma Securities LLC Makes New $2.25 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Two Sigma Securities purchased 6,019 Microsoft shares worth approximately $2.25 million during the second quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 41 Buy, five Hold and two Sell ratings. Microsoft has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.74 per share, beating estimates, while revenue increased 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,019 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. UBS Group lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its AI relationship with Nvidia and introduced the $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by Nvidia’s RTX technology. The device is designed to run AI models and agents locally, potentially strengthening Windows’ role in the emerging “agentic” PC market. Is Microsoft Stock a Buy After Expanding Its Nvidia Partnership?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to cite Azure momentum, Copilot demand and Microsoft’s large backlog as evidence that its more than $175 billion AI infrastructure investment could generate sustainable returns. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 price target, while other analysts have issued targets as high as $635. Microsoft’s Integrated AI Stack and Enterprise Copilot Flywheel Justify Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced that fiscal 2027 first-quarter results will be released after the market closes on October 28. Investors are likely to focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI capital expenditures, free cash flow and forward guidance. Microsoft Announces Quarterly Earnings Release Date
• Negative Sentiment: The Labor Department suspended Microsoft from the Permanent Labor Certification program used to help foreign workers obtain U.S. permanent residency, alleging misuse of worker programs. The restriction could raise hiring costs and, over time, make it harder to retain specialized AI talent, although the near-term earnings impact is expected to be limited. U.S. Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From Green-Card Labor Program
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Microsoft’s valuation is less attractive after its strong run, while heavy AI data-center spending may pressure free cash flow. Reports also questioned the reliability of OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue figures, adding uncertainty around a key AI partner. Oracle, Microsoft Shares Decline as OpenAI’s ARR Is Questioned
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned gaming companies over their use of virtual currencies, creating an additional regulatory overhang for the Xbox business. Italy Launches EU-Backed Probe Into Microsoft-Owned Gaming Companies

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $522.61 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $499.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company 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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