Diversified Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Diversified Trust Co. cut its Microsoft position by 3.5% in the second quarter, selling 8,101 shares and retaining 225,992 shares valued at approximately $84.3 million.
• Institutional sentiment remains broadly positive: 42 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy and five rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $564.27.
• 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 stock opened at $495.63 and carries a market capitalization of about $3.68 trillion.

Diversified Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 225,992 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,101 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.4% of Diversified Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Diversified Trust Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $84,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 8.4% during the first 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 during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the first 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 buying an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $564.27.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

MSFT stock opened at $495.63 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $455.85 and a 200 day moving average of $419.16.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to more than triple global data-center capacity to approximately 38 gigawatts by 2032. The expansion is intended to address server shortages that have forced Microsoft to turn away some AI and cloud customers, potentially allowing the company to capture more Azure demand and prevent business from shifting to rivals. Microsoft plans 38 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Microsoft’s AI and cloud growth. Recent commentary cites Azure revenue growth of 43%, expectations for further acceleration, and approximately 30 million paid Copilot seats—supporting the view that AI products are becoming meaningful enterprise businesses. Microsoft: Big Tech Winner Still On Sale
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets are moving higher, with a Yahoo Finance analyst survey cited at $572.92. Microsoft is also expanding Azure’s commercial ecosystem through partnerships such as Talkdesk’s Azure Marketplace integration, which could increase cloud consumption and simplify enterprise adoption. Microsoft Price Targets Are Rising
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reorganizing its reporting structure and plans to disclose quarterly Azure revenue beginning in fiscal 2027. Greater transparency may help investors assess cloud performance, but the reporting change itself does not alter fundamentals. Microsoft’s Azure Reporting Shift Adds Clarity
• Neutral Sentiment: Longtime communications chief Frank Shaw is leaving after nearly three decades, a senior leadership transition that may attract attention but is not currently tied to a change in strategy. Frank Shaw leaving Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: The data-center buildout will require very large capital expenditures, raising concerns about power availability, construction costs, free cash flow and returns on investment. The company’s recent capacity constraints also highlight execution risk. Microsoft’s AI Crunch Forced It to Turn Away Business
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing competition from Alphabet and other cloud providers, alongside security and productivity risks from bring-your-own-device users and concerns that Microsoft’s valuation already reflects substantial AI growth.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 101,335 shares of company stock valued at $50,655,795 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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