Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s 3rd Largest Position

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 26.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,045,129 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,072,962 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 6.5% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,143,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Newton One Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

MSFT opened at $506.69 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $509.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $448.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.