Unio Capital LLC Increases Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Unio Capital LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 32.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,057 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,615 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 9.6% of Unio Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Unio Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $44,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest earnings showed stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue, with Azure growth and Copilot adoption reinforcing the view that substantial AI investment is beginning to generate returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors continue to favor Microsoft over some other mega-cap technology names. Hedge Funds Favor Microsoft Over Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target to $660 and maintained an Outperform rating, arguing that Microsoft’s data-center expansion is measured, flexible, and supported by durable cloud demand. Other analysts also identified Azure growth, backlog, and institutional buying as potential catalysts for a year-end rally. Bernstein Raises Microsoft Target
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may unveil its Maia 300 AI chip as early as September and secure production capacity for more than 300,000 units could reduce reliance on Nvidia processors, lower long-term AI costs, and support Microsoft’s cloud strategy. Microsoft Maia 300 Chip Report

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.16.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $407.02 and a 200 day moving average of $407.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) 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 net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business 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 firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

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).