McIlrath & Eck LLC Purchases 18,127 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 124,543 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,127 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.4% of McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $46,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $495.40 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $411.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. 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, August 5th. Barclays cut their price target on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, CLSA reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27.

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).