WNY Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• WNY Asset Management acquired 15,417 Microsoft shares worth approximately $5.7 million during the first quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $560.27.
• Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.64 and a 0.7% yield. Recent insider activity was negative, with executives selling a combined 37,310 shares worth $17.3 million over the past 90 days.

WNY Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 15,417 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $5,701,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $495.40 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $411.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. President Capital raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.27.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, 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 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source