Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Decreased by Wedmont Private Capital

Key Points

• Wedmont Private Capital reduced its Microsoft stake by 4% in the second quarter, selling 4,261 shares and retaining 101,962 shares valued at approximately $39.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89; Azure revenue increased 48%. However, investors remain focused on the company’s roughly $170 billion AI capital-spending plan, rising costs and the need to convert its AI backlog into profitable cash flow.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with Microsoft carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $609.54. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while insiders have sold approximately $75.4 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Wedmont Private Capital lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,962 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,261 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.1% of Wedmont Private Capital's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kintra Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 9.8% in the second quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 51,004 shares of the software giant's stock worth $19,026,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 5,583 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,699 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Bayshore Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bayshore Asset Management LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.0% during the second quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft delivered a strong fiscal first quarter, with revenue of $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, both above expectations. Azure revenue surged 48%, while Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%, reinforcing the view that AI demand is translating into meaningful cloud growth. Microsoft Earnings Expose a Growing Divide in the Magnificent 7 AI Trade
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued second-quarter revenue guidance of $96.0 billion to $97.1 billion, above the $95.7 billion consensus estimate. Analysts responded with multiple price-target increases, including targets of $630 to $680, and Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong cash generation and diversified enterprise business continue to distinguish it from rivals facing sharper cash-flow concerns. Analysts argue that Azure, Copilot, AI agents and Microsoft’s security products provide several ways to monetize AI. The expanded Estée Lauder partnership, which will extend Copilot to more than 14,000 employees, offers another example of enterprise adoption. Estée Lauder and Microsoft Strategic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s voluntary exit offer for approximately 60,000 employees may improve productivity and redirect resources toward AI, but it also highlights a significant restructuring as the company shifts toward more automated, equipment-intensive operations. Microsoft’s 60,000-Person Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s capital intensity. The company plans roughly $170 billion of AI-related capital spending, while also arranging a $25 billion bond sale—the first major U.S. debt offering since 2017—to fund its buildout. Rising borrowing costs increase scrutiny of future AI returns. Microsoft Plans to Raise $25 Billion in Debt
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending was below analyst expectations because third-party AI-chip and data-center capacity was delayed, pushing some capacity into the first half of 2027. While management described this as a supply issue rather than weaker demand, the miss hurt AI infrastructure suppliers and revived concerns about the pace of expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud gross margin is reportedly narrowing as chip, power, data-center and labor costs rise. With the Nasdaq 100 down sharply during October amid fears of an AI spending bubble, investors are demanding proof that Microsoft’s large backlog will convert into profitable cash flow—not merely future revenue.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Griffin Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $512.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $438.43. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $551.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 19.00%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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