Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $1.07 Billion Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,214,496 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 231,440 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.7% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,070,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. China Renaissance lowered their price target 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. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.88.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $421.92 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $398.18 and its 200 day moving average is $440.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. 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: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman’s Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing ‘compelling’ valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

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).