Katamaran Capital LLP Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Katamaran Capital LLP reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 62.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,907 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 13,430 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.4% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 25.3% in the first quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 8,648 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations: Azure revenue increased 43%, ahead of roughly 40% analyst expectations, and annual Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time. The performance eased concerns that demand for AI infrastructure might be slowing. Microsoft tops quarterly cloud growth estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings beat: Microsoft reported $4.74 in adjusted EPS versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and $90.01 billion in revenue versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue rose 17.7% year over year, while profit increased about 31%. Microsoft fourth-quarter earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization is accelerating: Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, while management described the next growth phase as a “per seat plus consumption” model. Investors viewed Azure and Copilot adoption as evidence that AI investments are translating into commercial demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Spending concerns moderated: Microsoft held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady and said it expects continued cash generation in fiscal 2027. Management also said GPU spending could be adjusted if demand weakens, helping counter fears of unchecked AI-related cash burn. Microsoft keeps capex forecast unchanged
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and analyst support improved: Commercial remaining performance obligations reached a record $678 billion, up 84% year over year. RBC, Goldman Sachs, BMO, TD Cowen and DA Davidson were among firms maintaining positive ratings or raising targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox strategy: New gaming chief Asha Sharma aims to exceed peers’ margins by 2030 through Minecraft investment and partnerships, including in China. The plan could support longer-term profitability but remains execution-dependent. Microsoft Xbox margin plan
• Negative Sentiment: Risks remain: Wiz reported a cloud vulnerability that could have exposed Microsoft customers, while U.K. regulators are investigating Microsoft 365 subscription marketing. Several securities-fraud law firms also publicized shareholder lawsuits. These developments are potential overhangs, although they did not offset the earnings-driven optimism.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. China Renaissance reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.64.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $451.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $397.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $405.54. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 33.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.28 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

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).