Evolutionary Tree Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 58.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,844 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 9,810 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.8% of Evolutionary Tree Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Evolutionary Tree Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $495.40 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $411.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $408.50.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Microsoft News Summary
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
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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).
See Also
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