Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 769,651 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 31,134 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.0% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $372,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 203,017 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $98,183,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,059,955 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $512,615,000 after purchasing an additional 194,421 shares in the last quarter. Newport Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Newport Capital Group LLC now owns 5,324 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,446,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. boosted its position in Microsoft by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. now owns 16,834 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,842,000 after acquiring an additional 11,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latko Wealth Management Ltd. grew its stake in Microsoft by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Latko Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 1,267 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.0%

MSFT stock opened at $403.41 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $409.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $430.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price objective (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value 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 approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft won a major healthcare AI win, with NHS England planning a rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot to 505,000 clinicians and staff. The deal could expand recurring Copilot adoption and reinforces Microsoft’s AI monetization story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts pointed to fresh support for Azure and Microsoft’s broader AI cloud business, including commentary that rising AI infrastructure demand could boost cloud upside and longer-term earnings growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also received positive coverage around its AI strategy, with articles highlighting its agentic AI ambitions and Citi reaffirming a Buy rating with a $620 price target, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s open-source GitHub projects were reportedly compromised by hackers trying to steal AI developer logins, which is a security concern but not yet a clear direct financial hit. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces discussed Microsoft’s long-term AI position, OpenAI relationship, and stock valuation, but these were mostly commentary rather than new business updates. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft stock is also facing pressure from reports that it is “sinking” despite some positive news, reflecting investor caution after recent gains and a broader rotation away from mega-cap tech. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data and hedge-fund activity added to the cautious tone, with articles noting Microsoft has been a recent target of heavy debate and that David Tepper sold most of Appaloosa’s Microsoft position. Article Title

Microsoft Company Profile

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).