Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Auto Owners Insurance Co

Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 7.0% of Auto Owners Insurance Co’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Auto Owners Insurance Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,073,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $101,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,891,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,138,798 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,715,379,000 after buying an additional 1,599,412 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,712,000. Finally, Cedarwood Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $1,988,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $412.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Chevron announced a 20-year agreement to build Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt natural-gas-powered facility in West Texas to support Microsoft’s AI and cloud data centers, reinforcing long-term demand for Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. Reuters article on Chevron signs power supply deal with Microsoft for Texas data center
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella called for broader AI access, lower-cost models, and more emphasis on trust and choice, which supports the case that Microsoft is positioning itself to compete beyond the expensive frontier-model race. Yahoo Finance article on Microsoft CEO Calls for Broader AI Access
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft was cited as part of a broader Big Tech pullback tied to AI sector rotation and regulatory overhang, suggesting the stock is being dragged by the group rather than by company-specific operating news. Yahoo Finance article on US Equity Indexes Mixed Amid Steep Decline in Communication Services
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple investor-rights firms announced or promoted a securities class action against Microsoft related to alleged Copilot-related disclosures, adding headline risk but not yet changing the underlying business outlook. GlobeNewswire article on MSFT Alert
• Negative Sentiment: New class-action headlines around Microsoft’s Copilot issues and alleged investor harm may weigh on sentiment by increasing legal uncertainty and keeping attention on prior stock declines. PR Newswire article on MSFT Stockholder Alert

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. New Street Research dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.20.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company 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).