Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Empire Financial Management Company LLC

Key Points

• Empire Financial Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 6.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,874 shares and retaining 25,216 shares valued at approximately $9.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.74 in adjusted EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, representing 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equal to a 0.7% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27. Investors continue to focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption and AI infrastructure demand, although China restructuring and environmental concerns pose risks.

Empire Financial Management Company LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,216 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,874 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.1% of Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Microsoft by 138.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock worth $502,077,000 after purchasing an additional 788,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $496.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $409.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $407.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman reaffirmed his bullish Azure thesis, arguing that continued capacity investment and Microsoft 365’s embedded customer base can support high-teens earnings growth. Microsoft Stock Rises as Ackman Reaffirms Azure Bet
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing accelerating Copilot adoption and infrastructure growth. Wells Fargo also maintained an overweight rating and lifted its target to $700, reinforcing the view that the stock’s AI-driven recovery has further upside. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft began gradually combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified AI platform. The planned “super app” could improve user adoption, cross-selling and Microsoft’s competitive position against ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Consumer and Enterprise Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft accepted IREN’s first AI data-center deployment under a $9.7 billion cloud agreement. The milestone supports Azure’s ability to secure additional computing capacity as AI infrastructure demand remains strong. IREN Hands Microsoft Its First AI Cloud Deployment
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly closing or restructuring numerous China offices and joint ventures, while retaining an Azure-linked presence. The move may reduce geopolitical exposure but could also limit access to the Chinese market. Microsoft Retreats in China
• Negative Sentiment: A report said Microsoft plans to cut carbon-removal purchases while AI-related emissions rise, creating potential reputational and environmental concerns. Microsoft Carbon Removal Purchases Report

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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