Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,268,049 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 14,300 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.7% of Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $650,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,928,664,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,653,812,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,000,706,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are a few of the latest stories about MSFT:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud and AI businesses continue to attract enterprise use. A new IBM partnership combines Microsoft’s cloud, data and security services with more than 6,000 AI agents; Northern Trust also reported that an agent built with Microsoft cut data-preparation time by 83%. IBM and Microsoft announce an AI agent platform Northern Trust leans on Microsoft to boost agentic AI
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is pushing back against a potential U.S. ban on Chinese data-center components point to a possible obstacle for equipment access and data-center deployment—important given the company’s AI infrastructure needs. Microsoft presses to scuttle expected ban on Chinese data-center technology
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s reported $10.9 billion quarterly adjusted operating loss has renewed questions about the profitability of Microsoft’s major AI partnership and the returns on its AI investment. Microsoft’s OpenAI bet and questions raised by Anthropic’s profit lead

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $521.13 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $559.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $518.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $441.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.13 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. KeyCorp set a $625.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Microsoft from $662.00 to $722.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 142,809 shares of company stock worth $72,114,646 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.