Hyperion Asset Management Ltd Increases Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Hyperion Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 524,265 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,754 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.2% of Hyperion Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $195,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in 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 worth $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 about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $513.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $430.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $412.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong Azure and cloud performance helped drive a rally of roughly 48% from its June low, with the stock reaching a 10-month high and moving above a technical buy point. A recently formed “golden cross,” in which the 50-day moving average moved above the 200-day average, also supports bullish momentum. Bull v. Bear: MSFT Hits 2026 High, is a New Record Next?
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly in early discussions with Moonshot AI regarding its Kimi K3 model. A potential arrangement could add another AI service to Azure and create a new revenue stream, although negotiations are not finalized. MSFT Stock Alert: Moonshot Could Give Microsoft Another AI Revenue Stream
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s deployment of more than 25 AI agents across its supply chain illustrates early enterprise use cases for agentic AI, including demand forecasting, freight routing and inventory management. Successful internal deployments could support broader adoption of Microsoft’s AI tools. Microsoft Puts 25 AI Agents to Work on Supply Chain Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is spending heavily on AI infrastructure—approximately $175 billion this year—and has reassured employees that data-center investment is intended to support long-term growth. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion, while contracted backlog and commercial bookings remain major valuation supports. Microsoft Reassures Employees About AI Data Center Impacts
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s gains have helped lift major indexes, but the strength is concentrated in a few mega-cap technology stocks while small caps and many sectors weaken as bond yields rise. This creates a broader market-risk backdrop despite Microsoft’s relative strength. Dow Jones Futures: Microsoft, Titans Mask Market Weakness
• Negative Sentiment: One analyst argued that Microsoft’s valuation rerating may be largely complete for now, raising the risk of profit-taking after the recent monthly rally. At the current valuation, further gains may require continued upward revisions to cloud and AI growth expectations. Microsoft: The Rerating Is Probably Over For Now

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. CLSA reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $528.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.

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).