55,737 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 55,737 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $20,791,000. Microsoft makes up 0.8% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortress Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $976,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $27,676,000. Martin & Co. Inc. TN bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,583,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $144,146,000. Finally, Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,181,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $675 from $525 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing accelerating Azure and Microsoft 365 growth driven by artificial intelligence. The firm believes Microsoft’s valuation remains reasonable despite its recent rally. UBS raises Microsoft price target
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms have lifted their targets, with analysts highlighting Azure momentum, approximately 30 million Copilot seats, Microsoft’s commercial backlog and the potential for a larger-than-usual earnings beat. The October 28 results will provide an important test of whether AI spending is translating into revenue and profit.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Maia 300 custom AI accelerator is expected to scale across Azure data centers and reportedly deliver more tokens per megawatt than conventional GPU systems. The chip could reduce inference costs and Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia and AMD hardware. Microsoft Maia 300 AI chip
• Positive Sentiment: AI care-management company Tucuvi joined Microsoft’s Pegasus startup program, potentially expanding Microsoft’s enterprise AI pipeline and go-to-market reach in healthcare. Microsoft also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91, signaling continued confidence in cash generation. Tucuvi joins Microsoft Pegasus Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Azure management is seeking roughly 20% cost reductions could improve efficiency and margins, but also underscore the pressure created by Microsoft’s substantial AI data-center investments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s $10 million contribution to a White House ballroom project is unlikely to affect near-term financial results, though it could attract political or reputational scrutiny. Microsoft White House ballroom contribution
• Negative Sentiment: Higher inflation and bond yields have pressured AI valuations and raised concerns about the financing cost and returns of large infrastructure projects. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet makes it less vulnerable than smaller AI companies, but valuation sensitivity remains a risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to Hold, while reports of security vulnerabilities, executive share sales and intense competition from rapidly growing AI companies add caution. Amy Hood’s sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.71.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $539.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $504.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $439.96. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

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.