Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Buys 5,428 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,493 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,428 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $52,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators remain bullish on Microsoft’s long-term AI outlook, arguing the stock looks attractive after the recent pullback and that Copilot/agentic AI could still drive upside. Microsoft Remains A Generational Buying Opportunity In The Agentic AI Era
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to win AI-infrastructure-related business, including a new 260 MW solar supply deal that supports its data-center and cloud expansion needs. MN8 Energy Delivers 260 MW of Solar to Microsoft Across Two U.S. Power Markets
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reinforcing Microsoft’s cash-generation strength and shareholder-return profile. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments on using the right AI model for the right task highlight Microsoft’s push for AI efficiency, but also signal growing attention to AI compute costs. Satya Nadella Warns Against AI Overuse
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft limiting employee use of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 over data-retention concerns underscores tighter AI governance, though the direct financial impact appears limited. Microsoft limits employee use of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Xbox is preparing major layoffs and budget cuts are pressuring sentiment, as they point to restructuring and weaker confidence in the gaming segment. Microsoft’s Xbox plans for major layoffs next month
• Negative Sentiment: News that Microsoft is cutting jobs in its Azure unit in China adds to concerns about geopolitical friction and near-term cloud execution. Microsoft lays off hundreds from Azure unit in China
• Negative Sentiment: Broader commentary that AI data-center spending may be facing a reality check is weighing on the market’s enthusiasm for Microsoft’s heavy AI capex plans. Wall Street’s $800 Billion AI Data Center Bet Is Showing Cracks

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $390.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $410.65 and a 200-day moving average of $429.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. China Renaissance decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Dbs Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 19,262 shares of company stock valued at $8,695,581 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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).