Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 473,877 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 14,673 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.3% of Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $176,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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 period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% in the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $564.27.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $493.95 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $449.56 and a 200-day moving average of $417.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed that Azure is generating more than a $100 billion annualized revenue run rate and reorganized reporting around AI infrastructure and agents. Greater Azure transparency and accelerating demand could support revenue visibility and investor confidence. Microsoft Breaks Out Azure Sales at $100 Billion Annualized Pace, Reorganizes AI Segments
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is positioned at the center of a projected multitrillion-dollar AI infrastructure buildout, with Azure demand, large customer commitments, and its partnership with NVIDIA potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Nvidia, Microsoft at Center of $7 Trillion AI Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with recent buy or overweight ratings and a reported median price target of $540. However, the stock’s sharp advance and proximity to its prior high make continued gains dependent on cash-flow conversion and the payoff from heavy AI investment. Microsoft Stock Opinions on Recent Earnings and Business Reorganization
• Negative Sentiment: Two additional lawsuits from news organizations over the use of news content in AI training increase legal uncertainty around Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship and could create financial, reputational, or operational costs. Microsoft's OpenAI Partnership Draws Fresh Legal Fire
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s effort to measure the “useful yield” produced by each AI infrastructure dollar and watt highlights investor concerns about whether massive data-center spending will generate adequate returns. The scrutiny could pressure sentiment toward Microsoft and key supplier NVIDIA. Microsoft’s Useful Yield Test Raises the Stakes for NVIDIA’s AI Economics
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports also cite insider selling, including sales by Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, while separate reports of Outlook and Microsoft 365 service disruptions add modest execution and reliability concerns. Microsoft's OpenAI Partnership Draws Fresh Legal Fire

About Microsoft

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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