VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases New Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,523,460 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $568,281,000. Microsoft makes up 3.4% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the second quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the second quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the first quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mann Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mann Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,921 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, both above expectations. Azure revenue surged 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%, reinforcing the view that AI demand is translating into meaningful cloud growth. Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion, above the $95.7 billion consensus estimate. Analysts responded with multiple price-target increases, including targets of $630 to $680, and Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong cash generation and diversified enterprise business continue to distinguish it from rivals facing sharper cash-flow concerns. Analysts argue that Azure, Copilot, AI agents and Microsoft’s security products provide several ways to monetize AI. The expanded Estée Lauder partnership, which will extend Copilot to more than 14,000 employees, offers another example of enterprise adoption. Estée Lauder and Microsoft Strategic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer for approximately 60,000 employees may improve productivity and redirect resources toward AI, but it also highlights a significant restructuring as the company shifts toward more automated, equipment-intensive operations. Microsoft’s 60,000-Person Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s capital intensity. The company plans roughly $170 billion of AI-related capital spending, while also arranging a $25 billion bond sale—the first major U.S. debt offering since 2017—to fund its buildout. Rising borrowing costs increase scrutiny of future AI returns. Microsoft Plans to Raise $25 Billion in Debt
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending was below analyst expectations because third-party AI-chip and data-center capacity was delayed, pushing some capacity into the first half of 2027. While management described this as a supply issue rather than weaker demand, the miss hurt AI infrastructure suppliers and revived concerns about the pace of expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud gross margin is reportedly narrowing as chip, power, data-center and labor costs rise. With the Nasdaq 100 down sharply during October amid fears of an AI spending bubble, investors are demanding proof that Microsoft’s large backlog will convert into profitable cash flow—not merely future revenue.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Microsoft from $608.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 12th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group set a $700.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $521.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $438.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $551.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 19.00%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.