Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 7.3% in the first quarter, selling 71,911 shares. Microsoft remains the firm’s fourth-largest holding, representing 4.6% of its portfolio and valued at approximately $336.3 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft, while insiders sold 23,762 shares worth about $10.5 million over the past three months. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a 1.0% yield.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $555.40 price target. Investors will focus on Azure growth and fiscal 2027 capital-expenditure guidance at the July 29 earnings report, amid concerns that heavy AI spending could pressure margins and free cash flow.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 908,381 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 71,911 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.6% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $336,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business'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 value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Dbs Bank dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 24th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.40.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft joined 25 tech companies in urging U.S. policymakers not to impose broad restrictions on open-weight and open-source AI models, a stance that supports its broader AI ecosystem strategy and could help preserve flexibility for future product development. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also backed a coalition letter with Nvidia, Meta, and other firms arguing that open-weight AI is important for U.S. leadership, reinforcing investor confidence that the company remains a major AI platform player rather than being boxed into one model provider. Business Insider article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded Databricks partnership extends a key cloud/data-AI relationship through the 2030s, which should help Azure adoption and strengthen long-term enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud services. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several previews ahead of Microsoft’s July 29 earnings report say the big investor focus will be FY2027 CapEx guidance and Azure growth, with analysts expecting strong results but worrying that AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margins. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued class-action alerts and deadline reminders tied to Microsoft securities-fraud claims, including allegations related to Copilot disclosures, which adds headline risk and may keep some investors cautious into earnings. GlobeNewswire article
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech weakness tied to AI spending fears also weighed on Microsoft, as investors sold mega-cap names after seeing massive capital outlays across the sector and questioning near-term returns on AI investment. Fox Business article

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $381.70 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $398.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $407.62.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.7 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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

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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