Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management cut its Microsoft stake by 8.2% in the second quarter, selling 19,898 shares and retaining 222,948 shares valued at approximately $83.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Microsoft has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $609.54, despite one recent downgrade to “Hold.”
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue up 18.8% to $92.28 billion and EPS of $4.89, while Azure revenue climbed 48%; however, investors continue to monitor heavy AI spending, rising infrastructure costs and planned debt issuance.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,948 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 19,898 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.8% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $83,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $665.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. This represents a 1.30% 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 sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

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.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $521.91 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $551.15. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $512.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $438.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.13 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.46%.

Microsoft Company 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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