Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Purchases 1,626 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,057 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,626 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.8% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after acquiring an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth and AI monetization are driving the rally. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations, while Azure growth accelerated to approximately 30%. Analysts and commentators said demand for cloud and generative-AI services is beginning to justify the company’s roughly $175 billion in annual spending. Microsoft Just Proved that AI Spending Can Pay Off
• Positive Sentiment: Strong bookings and infrastructure commitments support future revenue. Microsoft’s cloud backlog and more than $100 billion in data-center leases indicate that customers are committing to long-term capacity, giving investors greater confidence in continued Azure and AI expansion. Big Tech’s Cloud Backlog Just Hit $2.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment has improved. Analysts described Microsoft as one of the better-positioned hyperscalers in the AI race, citing its balance sheet, recurring software revenue, free-cash-flow generation and cloud leadership. The post-earnings advance has erased the stock’s prior 2026 losses and renewed expectations for additional upside. Microsoft’s Stock Is on a Run Not Seen in 26 Years
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft 365 ecosystem expansion. Paychex launched its WISE workforce-intelligence integration in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams, reinforcing Microsoft’s platform reach among small and midsize businesses, although the direct financial impact for MSFT is likely modest. Paychex Brings WISE Workforce Intelligence to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams
• Negative Sentiment: Securities litigation remains an overhang. Several law firms publicized a class action concerning alleged misrepresentations about Copilot functionality, AI adoption and Azure growth, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The announcements do not establish liability but could increase legal, reputational and disclosure risks. MSFT Shareholder Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Capital spending and free cash flow remain watch points. The scale of AI infrastructure spending could pressure cash flow and returns if monetization slows, even though recent results have eased those concerns. The AI Spending Boom and Free Cash Flow

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 4.9%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $487.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $399.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.57. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.

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).