Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Wiregrass Investment Management LLC's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Wiregrass Investment Management increased its Microsoft stake by 13.2% in the first quarter to 12,748 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million, making Microsoft its fifth-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of MSFT.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $558.87.
• AI and Azure expansion remain major growth drivers, but investors face risks from rising data-center spending, potential margin pressure, customer concentration and recent insider selling. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, yielding approximately 0.7%.

Wiregrass Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,748 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.9% of Wiregrass Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Arvest Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 29.6% during the first quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division now owns 107,151 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $39,664,000 after acquiring an additional 24,497 shares in the last quarter. Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd boosted its stake in Microsoft by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd now owns 130,140 shares of the software giant's stock worth $48,174,000 after purchasing an additional 45,860 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 256,556 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $94,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co increased its stake in Microsoft by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co now owns 20,259 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,499,000 after purchasing an additional 7,715 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $404.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $406.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. New Street Research cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. CLSA reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Microsoft from $646.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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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