Cardiff Park Advisors LLC Sells 1,507 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Cardiff Park Advisors reduced its Microsoft stake by 5.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,507 shares and retaining 23,892 shares valued at approximately $8.84 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: 42 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy and five rate it a Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $560.27.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating expectations. However, investors are monitoring rising AI infrastructure spending, which could pressure margins and cash flow, while insiders sold $17.26 million of stock over the past quarter.

Cardiff Park Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,892 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,507 shares during the quarter. Cardiff Park Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 a total of 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results remain the primary bullish catalyst. Microsoft reported revenue growth of 17.7% and earnings of $4.74 per share, well above consensus, reinforcing confidence in Azure, cloud demand and AI monetization. Magnificent Seven Earnings Remain Robust: MSFT, AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive. Wells Fargo raised its Microsoft price target to a Street-high $700 from $650 and maintained an overweight rating, citing the company’s growth prospects and ecosystem strength. Wells Fargo Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI and cloud ecosystem through partnerships, including S&P Global data in Microsoft 365 Copilot, broader enterprise adoption in Brazil and Sionic’s instant-payment service on Microsoft Marketplace. These initiatives could support platform usage and recurring revenue over time. S&P Global Expands Collaboration with Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may introduce another Maia AI processor as early as September highlight its strategy to use custom chips to improve Azure AI efficiency. The move could reduce costs and reliance on outside suppliers, but the financial benefits will depend on successful scaling. Microsoft Stock Drops While Maia Chip Ambitions Expand
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Microsoft’s rapidly rising AI infrastructure spending could pressure margins, cash flow and returns before new capacity generates sufficient revenue. The stock’s sharp rally since the earnings report also increases profit-taking and valuation sensitivity. Microsoft's AI Data Center Push: Growth Engine or Capex Trap?
• Negative Sentiment: A newly disclosed Windows zero-day vulnerability that may enable system-wide access adds reputational, remediation and potential liability concerns. Separate reports of pending investor lawsuits contribute to a cautious tone, although neither issue has yet altered Microsoft’s fundamental earnings outlook. New Windows Zero-Day Bug Published

Microsoft Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $492.43 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $408.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $407.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft Profile

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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