Aspiriant LLC Acquires 5,372 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Aspiriant LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 12.7% in the second quarter, purchasing 5,372 additional shares to hold 47,661 shares valued at approximately $17.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue rose 17.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $564.27. However, Microsoft faces risks from costly AI data-center expansion, competition, and valuation concerns.

Aspiriant LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,661 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,372 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.4% of Aspiriant LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Aspiriant LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $495.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.40.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $564.27.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 101,335 shares of company stock valued at $50,655,795 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to more than triple global data-center capacity to approximately 38 gigawatts by 2032. The expansion is intended to address server shortages that have forced Microsoft to turn away some AI and cloud customers, potentially allowing the company to capture more Azure demand and prevent business from shifting to rivals. Microsoft plans 38 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Microsoft’s AI and cloud growth. Recent commentary cites Azure revenue growth of 43%, expectations for further acceleration, and approximately 30 million paid Copilot seats—supporting the view that AI products are becoming meaningful enterprise businesses. Microsoft: Big Tech Winner Still On Sale
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets are moving higher, with a Yahoo Finance analyst survey cited at $572.92. Microsoft is also expanding Azure’s commercial ecosystem through partnerships such as Talkdesk’s Azure Marketplace integration, which could increase cloud consumption and simplify enterprise adoption. Microsoft Price Targets Are Rising
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reorganizing its reporting structure and plans to disclose quarterly Azure revenue beginning in fiscal 2027. Greater transparency may help investors assess cloud performance, but the reporting change itself does not alter fundamentals. Microsoft’s Azure Reporting Shift Adds Clarity
• Neutral Sentiment: Longtime communications chief Frank Shaw is leaving after nearly three decades, a senior leadership transition that may attract attention but is not currently tied to a change in strategy. Frank Shaw leaving Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: The data-center buildout will require very large capital expenditures, raising concerns about power availability, construction costs, free cash flow and returns on investment. The company’s recent capacity constraints also highlight execution risk. Microsoft’s AI Crunch Forced It to Turn Away Business
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing competition from Alphabet and other cloud providers, alongside security and productivity risks from bring-your-own-device users and concerns that Microsoft’s valuation already reflects substantial AI growth.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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