CI Investments Inc. Sells 508,758 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• CI Investments cut its Microsoft position by 19.1%, selling 508,758 shares during the first quarter while retaining 2.16 million shares valued at approximately $799.3 million. Microsoft remains CI’s third-largest holding and represents about 3.9% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annualized yield.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with 42 analysts rating the stock Buy and five rating it Hold; the average price target is $558.87. However, insider selling, elevated AI infrastructure spending and customer-concentration risks remain potential concerns.

CI Investments Inc. lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,159,396 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 508,758 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.9% of CI Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. CI Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $799,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $404.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $406.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company 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 company'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 posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC decreased their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.87.

Microsoft Company 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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