Vista Capital Partners Inc. Raises Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Vista Capital Partners increased its Microsoft stake by 13.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 36,772 shares valued at approximately $13.7 million. Microsoft represents about 1.2% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, with year-over-year revenue growth of 17.7%. Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with 42 Buy ratings and an average price target of $569.29.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend by approximately 8% to $0.98 per share, equal to a $3.92 annualized payout and a 0.8% yield. Despite strong Azure and AI expectations, investors continue to monitor heavy AI spending, execution risks and recent Xbox-related layoffs.

Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,772 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 4,292 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.2% of Vista Capital Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Vista Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 234.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,619,211,000 after acquiring an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Microsoft by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the period. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after acquiring an additional 6,792,718 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $498.00 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $471.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlook. Oppenheimer increased its Microsoft price target to $570 from $515 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing sustained Azure and Microsoft 365 commercial momentum into fiscal 2027. Cantor Fitzgerald also reportedly raised its target to $608 and kept an Overweight rating. Oppenheimer Microsoft price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Azure has additional growth levers. BNP Paribas said recent Azure strength may not reflect the full opportunity, pointing to higher pricing as contracts renew, capacity expansion and a potential SpaceX cloud relationship. Azure growth has reportedly reached the mid-40% range, supporting the view that AI infrastructure demand can continue driving revenue. BNP Paribas Azure outlook article
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns remain supportive. Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend approximately 8% to $0.98 per share, extending its dividend-growth streak to more than two decades. The increase signals management confidence, although the modest yield is unlikely to be the primary stock catalyst. Microsoft dividend increase article
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI remains both an opportunity and a concentration risk. Microsoft’s AI partner is reportedly seeking a valuation above $1.2 trillion, potentially reinforcing Microsoft’s Azure and Copilot ecosystem. However, projected cash burn of roughly $278 billion and the company’s reliance on Microsoft-supported infrastructure raise questions about customer durability and AI spending economics. OpenAI valuation and Microsoft article
• Negative Sentiment: Xbox layoffs pressured sentiment. Microsoft is cutting approximately 268 Xbox jobs, with broader reports pointing to roughly 500 affected employees, while shifting the next Halo game to Activision. The move highlights a continuing gaming reset and was the clearest near-term reason for weakness in MSFT shares. Microsoft Xbox restructuring article
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution risks remain. Investors continue to monitor heavy capital spending, copyright and regulatory challenges, and concerns that AI revenue is concentrated among a small number of customers. These risks could pressure margins or the valuation if Azure growth fails to meet elevated expectations.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This 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. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $569.29.

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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