Edgestream Partners L.P. Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Edgestream Partners reduced its Microsoft stake by 17.1% in the first quarter, selling 7,650 shares and retaining 37,128 shares valued at approximately $13.7 million.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $90.01 billion in revenue and $4.74 earnings per share; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27.
• Investor sentiment remains supported by Azure growth, Copilot adoption, and AI expansion, though roughly $175 billion in planned AI infrastructure spending could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins.

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,128 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,650 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 0.5% of Edgestream Partners L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during 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 buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

MSFT stock opened at $495.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $411.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $408.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Monday. CLSA reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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).

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