15,382 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Suncoast Equity Management

Key Points

• Suncoast Equity Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 9.3%, selling 15,382 shares in the second quarter. It still held 150,237 shares worth approximately $56 million, representing 7% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft retains strong institutional and analyst support: institutional investors own 71.13% of the stock, while 43 of 48 covering analysts rate it Buy or Hold, with a consensus price target of $569.29.
• AI and cloud growth remain the primary catalysts, supported by Copilot adoption and Azure expansion, but investors are also monitoring the high cost of the AI buildout, privacy concerns and growing competition from OpenAI.

Suncoast Equity Management lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,237 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 15,382 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 7.0% of Suncoast Equity Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Suncoast Equity Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $56,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,852,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,235,785,000 after purchasing an additional 458,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after purchasing an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.29.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Copilot remains the primary catalyst. Jefferies reiterated its bullish view, citing Microsoft’s redesigned Copilot, new usage-based revenue opportunities and potential for paid Copilot seats to double over the next year. Enterprise AI adoption, however, is expected to build gradually. Jefferies Doubles Down on Microsoft's Copilot Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see further upside. JPMorgan maintained a Buy rating with a $625 target, while RBC reportedly set a $640 target, supported by Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. The stock is also on track for its strongest quarterly performance in decades, reflecting a market “flight to quality.” Microsoft Stock Surges Past $500
• Positive Sentiment: Azure and enterprise demand support the long-term case. Recent commentary points to Azure growth above 40%, rapidly increasing Copilot seats and a commercial backlog approaching $700 billion. Microsoft is also bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” AI workers into its enterprise security ecosystem, potentially expanding cloud and software consumption. Microsoft Brings OpenAI's Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: AI policy developments remain mixed. President Trump reaffirmed support for data centers and announced voluntary AI controls with Microsoft and other technology companies, potentially easing regulatory concerns while leaving uncertainty over whether voluntary safeguards will be sufficient. At A.I. Event, Trump Asks Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft to Make Safety Decisions Themselves
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and competitive risks are weighing on sentiment. Reports that humans may review some Copilot prompts have raised data-privacy concerns. OpenAI is also launching workplace features that increasingly resemble Microsoft Office, intensifying the risk that a key partner could compete directly with Microsoft’s software franchise. OpenAI Takes on Microsoft With a ChatGPT Office Suite
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning the cost and valuation of the AI buildout. Microsoft is reducing staff while committing heavily to data centers, and some analysts argue that cash-flow benefits may take longer to materialize. After its rally, elevated expectations leave less room for execution setbacks.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1%

MSFT opened at $508.96 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $482.29 and its 200 day moving average is $427.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.