Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Raised by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,382,344 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,691 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.5% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $687,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%

MSFT stock opened at $511.46 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $512.03 and a 200-day moving average of $463.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Melius Research boosted their target price on Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.45.

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.