Smith Asset Management Co. LLC Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Smith Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 87.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,066 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.5% of Smith Asset Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Smith Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $501.02 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $436.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.49.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $600 from $500 and maintained a Buy rating. The bank cited accelerating cloud growth, improving AI efficiency and better visibility into returns on investment. Its thesis includes approximately 43% Azure growth and more than 30 million paid Copilot seats, implying substantial upside. Microsoft’s AI strategy accelerates cloud growth and efficiency: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its HUMAIN partnership in the Middle East and Africa. The companies plan to combine HUMAIN ONE with Microsoft 365 Copilot and IQ capabilities for as many as one million enterprise users, while also bringing Arabic-language AI models to Microsoft’s ecosystem. The deal supports Microsoft’s international AI distribution and enterprise monetization strategy. Microsoft extends HUMAIN tie up
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial media continue to view Microsoft as a leading hyperscaler, citing Azure demand, Copilot adoption, strong cash generation and a valuation that remains reasonable relative to its growth prospects. Technical coverage also places MSFT in or near a potential buy zone after its recent rally. Why Microsoft’s stock could rally another 20%
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft customers can now deploy Laurel through the Microsoft Marketplace, adding another application to the company’s enterprise distribution ecosystem, though the immediate financial effect was not disclosed. Laurel Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft 365 and Outlook outages persisted into a second day. Although service appeared to be improving, prolonged disruptions could frustrate enterprise customers and raise questions about reliability. Microsoft 365 outage drags on
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on Microsoft’s approximately $116 billion in fiscal 2026 property and equipment spending. Continued AI infrastructure investment may support long-term growth but could pressure depreciation, margins and returns if demand fails to keep pace. Rising interest rates and Windows 11 update problems add further near-term risk.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,810 shares of company stock valued at $10,110,874. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).