Cooper Financial Group Sells 1,088 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Cooper Financial Group reduced its Microsoft stake by 1.8% in the second quarter, selling 1,088 shares and retaining 59,344 shares valued at approximately $22.1 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.91 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27, although concerns remain over surging AI-related capital spending, declining free cash flow, and some institutional and insider selling.

Cooper Financial Group trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,344 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,088 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.8% of Cooper Financial Group's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Cooper Financial Group's holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock worth $502,077,000 after buying an additional 788,297 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly preparing to launch its Maia 300 AI accelerator as soon as this fall and is discussing production with TSMC. Developing proprietary chips could reduce long-term reliance on Nvidia, improve supply-chain control, and support Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. Microsoft’s Betting Big on Its Own AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Meta has reportedly become one of Microsoft’s largest Azure AI customers, spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually and consuming substantial computing capacity. The relationship reinforces evidence that enterprise demand is translating into Azure revenue. Meta Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.91 per share, while Azure revenue reportedly surpassed $100 billion. Analysts and financial commentators also highlighted a roughly $678 billion backlog and continued strong demand for cloud and AI services. Microsoft Raises Dividend as AI Capital Spending Hits Record Levels
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the Horizon 1 Texas data-center project involving IREN, potentially expanding capacity available for AI workloads. The development is strategically relevant, although the near-term financial benefit to Microsoft remains unclear. Microsoft Accepts Horizon 1
• Negative Sentiment: Annual capital spending has climbed nearly 80% to about $115.9 billion, while free cash flow declined. Investors remain focused on whether AI revenue growth will generate adequate returns on this spending. Microsoft Spent $115.9 Billion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: TCI Management reportedly exited its Microsoft position and increased its Alphabet stake, adding a notable institutional-selling signal. Separately, commentary warned that Microsoft’s valuation depends on optimistic earnings forecasts, while higher bond yields could reduce the present value of future AI profits. TCI Exits Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $483.24 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $419.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $409.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. New Street Research dropped their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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