John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 2,276 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• John G. Ullman & Associates reduced its Microsoft position by 7.3%, selling 2,276 shares in the first quarter and retaining 29,035 shares valued at approximately $10.75 million. Microsoft represents about 1.4% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Microsoft reported a strong quarter, with $90.01 billion in revenue and $4.74 in adjusted EPS, beating analyst estimates; Azure revenue grew 43% year over year and annual Azure sales exceeded $100 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with 42 Buy ratings and an average price target of $558.64, though investors should weigh risks including elevated AI infrastructure spending, data-center constraints, regulatory scrutiny, a reported cloud-security flaw and recent insider selling.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,035 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,276 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.4% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $464.72 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $397.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $405.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a PE 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share 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 given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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