Curbstone Financial Management Corp Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,528 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.9% of Curbstone Financial Management Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Curbstone Financial Management Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in 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. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 15.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 108,335 shares of company stock valued at $53,499,700 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin disclosing quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and consolidate its reporting structure from three segments to two. The added transparency should allow investors to compare Azure more directly with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and could highlight the scale of AI-driven demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $500, citing accelerating Azure growth, improving AI efficiency and more than 30 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats. The bullish view reinforces expectations that Microsoft can convert AI infrastructure spending into higher revenue and earnings. Microsoft's AI strategy accelerates cloud growth and efficiency: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI ecosystem through a 20-year power agreement supporting a planned West Texas data center, a HUMAIN partnership targeting up to one million enterprise users in the Middle East and Africa, and new Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. These agreements support long-term cloud, infrastructure and productivity growth, although near-term profitability depends on execution. Microsoft Signed a 20-Year AI Power Deal With Chevron
• Neutral Sentiment: An EU court rejected Opera’s challenge to Microsoft Edge’s exemption from certain Digital Markets Act obligations. The ruling reduces an immediate regulatory burden for Edge, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. EU court rejects Opera challenge against Microsoft's Edge exemption
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 MSFT shares worth approximately $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although scheduled sales generally do not signal a change in business outlook, the transaction reduced his position by 15.09%; broader insider activity has also consisted entirely of sales over the past six months. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion in annual property and equipment spending. The AI buildout could drive substantial growth, but depreciation, power constraints and uncertain returns may pressure margins if demand fails to keep pace. Big Tech Spent Over $1 Trillion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of a controversial Windows 11 feature, continuing concerns about a Microsoft 365 outage, and criticism surrounding 3,200 Xbox job cuts. These issues may weigh on user sentiment and highlight risks in Microsoft’s consumer and gaming businesses. Xbox layoffs

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MSFT opened at $496.82 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $438.84 and its 200-day moving average is $414.45. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.49.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source