LongView Wealth Management Sells 1,201 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• LongView Wealth Management cut its Microsoft position by 13.6% in the second quarter, selling 1,201 shares and retaining 7,648 shares valued at approximately $2.85 million.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, while analysts maintain a generally positive outlook with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $564.27.
• Microsoft recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but investors remain focused on the risks of heavy AI infrastructure spending, potential pressure on free cash flow, insider selling and elevated valuation.

LongView Wealth Management decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,648 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,201 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.7% of LongView Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. LongView Wealth Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in Microsoft by 138.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to expand data-center capacity to approximately 38 gigawatts by 2032—more than triple its current footprint. The scale of the investment underscores management’s confidence in long-term Azure and AI demand, although the spending commitment also increases financial risk. Microsoft plans 38 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its partnership with Talkdesk, allowing customers to buy contact-center AI software with existing Azure commitments through the Azure Marketplace. The arrangement could increase Azure consumption and make enterprise AI adoption easier. Talkdesk and Microsoft expand partnership
• Positive Sentiment: TrueFoundry’s AI Gateway is now available in the Microsoft Marketplace, adding another enterprise AI workload to Azure’s commercial ecosystem. Microsoft is also promoting enforceable privacy controls for schools using AI, which may support adoption in sensitive education markets. TrueFoundry AI Gateway availability
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentary continue to point to Azure’s more-than-$100 billion annual revenue, rising Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s strong profitability as reasons the stock could outperform. However, the shares remain valued near 28 times earnings, leaving less room for disappointment. Microsoft bull case
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that the AI infrastructure buildup will pressure free cash flow and returns on capital. A separate analysis downgraded Microsoft, arguing that the company’s capital-expenditure rotation does not support an optimistic outlook. Microsoft capital expenditure downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Higher Treasury yields are weighing on expensive technology stocks, while Dynamics 365 Activate faces questions about slowing growth and softer bookings despite its effort to win Salesforce migrations. Microsoft also disclosed a record Patch Tuesday involving 974 vulnerabilities, including two exploited Windows zero-days, highlighting ongoing security and reputational risks. Microsoft Patch Tuesday vulnerabilities

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Phillip Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $564.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $492.44 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average is $453.75 and its 200 day moving average is $418.62. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Profile

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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