Allstate Corp Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 109.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 538,584 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 281,794 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.6% of Allstate Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $260,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. President Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Majorana 2 quantum processor, reinforcing its long-term innovation pipeline and boosting optimism around its advanced computing ambitions. Microsoft Announces Majorana 2 Quantum Chip as Wedbush Calls It Another ‘Validation’ for the Industry
• Positive Sentiment: NHS England is rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot to more than 500,000 staff, a large enterprise win that highlights demand for Microsoft’s AI tools and could expand recurring software revenue. NHS England accelerates AI adoption with Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve service delivery, reduce costs and create more time for care
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to argue that Microsoft’s AI strategy and ecosystem strength support long-term upside, which may help limit downside on weakness. Microsoft’s AI Independence and Ecosystem Momentum Underpin Buy Rating; $620 Price Target Reaffirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from investors and media continues to frame Microsoft as a strong AI and hyperscaler leader, but also notes ongoing debate about valuation and how much AI momentum is already priced in. Dryden Pence on GOOGL “Dominant” AI Position, META “Behind,” MSFT Still Strong
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is investigating a hack of its open-source GitHub projects that injected password-stealing malware, which is a reputational and security concern for the company’s developer ecosystem. Microsoft’s open source tools were hacked to steal passwords of AI developers
• Negative Sentiment: Reid Hoffman is leaving Microsoft’s board, and David Tepper reportedly cut most of Appaloosa’s Microsoft stake, adding to investor scrutiny around sentiment and governance. Reid Hoffman Exits Microsoft Board A Decade After LinkedIn Sale — Stock Has Soared 570%

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $411.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $408.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $430.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft 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).