Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 410,692 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 12,459 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.4% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $153,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second 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 period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft Trading Down 2.0%
MSFT stock opened at $499.70 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $444.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $415.80. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 108,335 shares of company stock worth $53,499,700 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s decision to disclose Azure revenue separately beginning in fiscal 2027 is improving visibility into its cloud business. Azure generated $29.4 billion in quarterly revenue and $101.9 billion for fiscal 2026, while the company’s remaining performance obligations reached $678 billion. The clearer reporting may help investors assess Microsoft’s position against Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. Microsoft Finally Reveals Azure’s Core
- Positive Sentiment: Stifel raised its Microsoft price target to $530, citing improving Copilot adoption and artificial-intelligence momentum. OpenAI’s launch of GPT-6 Astra could also benefit Microsoft because Azure customers are reportedly already using the model, strengthening the strategic value of Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship. Stifel raises Microsoft price target
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reorganizing its reporting structure around “Devices and Consumer” and “Agents and Infra.” The change could make AI economics easier to evaluate, but it may also increase scrutiny of spending and margins once the new disclosures begin.
- Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s AI buildout is becoming increasingly expensive. Capital expenditures reached about $41 billion in the latest quarter, cloud gross margin reportedly fell to roughly 65% from 67%, and the company plans to continue adding data centers and AI capacity. The risk is that depreciation, power and chip costs could delay returns on the large backlog. Microsoft faces pressure despite cloud and AI growth
- Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares worth approximately $43.4 million. The sale was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its value as a business signal, but the transaction can still add short-term sentiment pressure after the stock’s run-up. Satya Nadella sells Microsoft stock
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is limiting Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming to 15 hours per month for some subscribers as infrastructure costs rise. The move may improve service economics, but it risks frustrating users and weakening Microsoft’s consumer-gaming proposition. Microsoft limits Xbox cloud gaming
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Argus cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $564.27.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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).
See Also
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