Copeland Capital Management LLC Buys 17,260 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,559 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 17,260 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $464.72 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $397.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $405.45. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45. 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 has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $646.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.64.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

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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