Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Lifted by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,420,953 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 64,688 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.4% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $890,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. New Street Research cut their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $502.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $556.37.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

Microsoft stock opened at $390.34 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $399.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $408.91. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.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 firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Morgan Stanley, Bernstein, Truist, and CLSA remained constructive on Microsoft, with reports calling the stock deeply undervalued and setting price targets well above current levels. Microsoft has 3 secret weapons that could drive its stock 50% higher, analyst says
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI, adding another way to grow its cloud and AI ecosystem in Europe and regulated industries. Microsoft to fund Mistral’s European AI expansion in multibillion-dollar deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also deepened AI-related ties through new commitments to the DOE’s “Genesis Mission,” reinforcing its role in major public-sector AI infrastructure projects. Microsoft commits $60M to ‘Genesis Mission’ to help power Dept. of Energy’s AI-for-science push
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted record data-center demand led by hyperscalers including Microsoft, suggesting its AI infrastructure buildout remains robust despite the selloff. Sorry, AI Bears: Meta, Microsoft, and Google Lead Record Data Center Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s upcoming July 29 earnings report is the next major catalyst, with Wall Street focused on Azure growth, AI margins, and whether heavy capex is starting to bite.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted strong buy-the-dip interest from retail investors, but this is sentiment-driven rather than a direct business update.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is growing that Microsoft’s elevated AI spending is becoming an overhang, potentially pressuring near-term profitability and limiting upside. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Preview – Oppenheimer Says Demand Is Healthy, ‘But Elevated Capex Remains an Overhang’ on MSFT Stock
• Negative Sentiment: New securities-fraud class-action headlines tied to alleged AI/Copilot disclosure issues are adding another layer of uncertainty for Microsoft investors. MSFT Shareholder Alert: Microsoft Corporation Securities Class Action Lawsuit – Investors with Losses May Contact Levi & Korsinsky

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).