Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Trimmed by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America trimmed its Microsoft stake by 3.2% in the first quarter, selling about 2.36 million shares while retaining 70.77 million shares worth approximately $26.2 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft insiders sold 37,310 shares worth roughly $17.3 million during the latest quarter, including sales by EVP Takeshi Numoto and CEO Judson Althoff.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $90.01 billion in revenue and $4.74 in EPS, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,765,459 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,355,912 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.9% of Bank of America Corp DE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.95% of Microsoft worth $26,195,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $495.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap 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 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $411.27 and a 200 day moving average of $408.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. CLSA reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.27.

Key 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 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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