BEEP

OceanIQ Capital LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 17,018 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,348,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.9% of OceanIQ Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

• Can Microsoft Turn a Leaner Workforce and Record AI Spending Into Bigger Profits?

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 44.6% during the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock worth $101,311,000 after buying an additional 83,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $9,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $530.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $512.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $438.21. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $551.15. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10.

• Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 41.17%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

• Why Rising Rates Could Break the Bull Market Before AI Spending Can Save It

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Scotiabank set a $650.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Forty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reported fiscal Q1 revenue of $92.28 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.89 per share, exceeding analyst estimates. Revenue grew 18.8% year over year, while Azure revenue surged 48% to approximately $33.2 billion, reinforcing the company’s position as a leading beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption. Microsoft beats quarterly cloud revenue estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cloud growth, a $677 billion commercial backlog and expanding Copilot and AI-agent adoption have prompted several analysts to raise their price targets, including Citigroup’s $680 target and RBC’s $640 target. Microsoft stock slips despite strong Azure growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft generated approximately $18.6 billion in free cash flow, giving it substantially more flexibility than some rivals to fund AI investments without relying exclusively on debt. Analysts argue that the spending should be judged against the company’s cash generation and monetization potential. Microsoft Q1 capex and free cash flow
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is broadening Copilot distribution through education and finance-workflow integrations, while its AI-agent governance tools are attracting interest from major developers. These moves support the case for multiple long-term AI revenue streams. Microsoft expands Copilot in education
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft plans to issue as much as $25 billion in bonds, its first major U.S. bond sale since 2017, to support data-center and AI investment. Strong demand for the offering highlights investor confidence, but the borrowing also focuses attention on the scale of future capital requirements. Microsoft expects to raise $25 billion in bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Capital expenditures came in below expectations, and Microsoft reduced its forecast to roughly $170 billion from $175 billion. Management attributed the shortfall to third-party chip and data-center capacity delays, but investors remain concerned that elevated spending may pressure returns and margins. AI buildout capex estimates
• Negative Sentiment: About $10 billion of quarterly revenue was tied to commercial arrangements with OpenAI, or nearly 11% of total revenue, increasing concentration and counterparty-risk concerns as the companies increasingly compete in AI services. Microsoft recorded $10 billion in revenue from OpenAI

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

(Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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