Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by MWA Asset Management

MWA Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 29.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,853 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,133 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.8% of MWA Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its stake in Microsoft by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Microsoft by 138.8% during 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 during 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 $499.99 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $404.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.59. 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 cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. President Capital upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, New Street Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.87.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft 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).