Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 577,976 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,486 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $213,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake 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. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $464.72 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $397.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $405.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% 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 Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Dbs Bank reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. President Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.

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).