Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Brown Shipley& Co Ltd's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Brown Shipley increased its Microsoft position by 2.9% in the first quarter to 54,456 shares worth approximately $20.2 million, making MSFT the firm’s second-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft delivered a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $90.01 billion in revenue and $4.74 in adjusted EPS, while Azure revenue grew 43% year over year and surpassed $100 billion in annual sales.
• Analysts maintain a broadly bullish view, with 42 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $558.64, though investors should consider risks including elevated valuation, AI infrastructure spending, data-center constraints, regulatory scrutiny and recent insider selling.

Brown Shipley& Co Ltd lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,456 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 12.1% of Brown Shipley& Co Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $2,616,000. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Microsoft by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in Microsoft by 138.8% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $464.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $397.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $405.96. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.64.

Microsoft Company 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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