Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,993 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 20,094 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Key Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft agreed to a long-term partnership with Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN to bring its ALLAM Arabic-language AI models to Microsoft Foundry and Microsoft 365 Copilot. The deal expands Azure’s enterprise AI reach in the Middle East and adds regional-language capabilities to Microsoft’s ecosystem. Microsoft Expands Middle East AI Footprint Through Long-Term HUMAIN Deal
- Positive Sentiment: China’s Moonshot AI is reportedly discussing revenue-sharing arrangements with Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet that could allow the cloud providers to host its Kimi K3 model. If completed, the arrangement could generate additional Azure consumption and provide access to a large pool of enterprise AI customers. China’s Moonshot in talks with Microsoft, Amazon, Google over K3 revenue sharing
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s roughly $678 billion commercial backlog and growing reliance on Azure for AI workloads—including demand from major customers such as Meta—continue to reinforce the long-term revenue outlook. Pershing Square’s decision to make Microsoft its largest AI holding also provides a favorable institutional signal. Microsoft Rises as $678 Billion Backlog Defies Tech Selloff
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is developing its own Maia 300 AI chip, potentially reducing dependence on third-party GPUs and improving inference economics over time. However, custom silicon requires significant upfront investment, and the financial benefits remain unproven. OpenAI’s Jalapeño Chip Could Change the AI Hardware Race
- Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s AI capacity is converting into cash more slowly than expected. Fulfilling the backlog requires a historically large data-center buildout, while rising memory and server costs are increasing pressure on capital spending and near-term margins. Microsoft’s AI Capacity Is Selling – But Cash Conversion Is Lagging
- Negative Sentiment: Critics say Microsoft provides insufficient disclosure on AI revenue, costs and capital allocation, making it difficult to assess returns on its AI investments. A slightly hotter-than-expected core PCE reading also creates a broader valuation headwind for richly valued technology shares. Microsoft Is Leaving Investors Flying Blind on Its AI Businesses
Microsoft Trading Up 0.9%
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. President Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. New Street Research lowered their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, CLSA restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27.
View Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Insider Activity
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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).
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