Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Estuary Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Estuary Capital Management cut its Microsoft position by 27.8% in the first quarter, selling 20,922 shares and retaining 54,248 shares valued at approximately $20.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported a strong quarter, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 17.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 42 analysts rating the stock a Buy and five a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Estuary Capital Management LP lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,248 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 20,922 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.4% of Estuary Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Estuary Capital Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $492.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $408.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $407.67.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results remain the primary bullish catalyst. Microsoft reported revenue growth of 17.7% and earnings of $4.74 per share, well above consensus, reinforcing confidence in Azure, cloud demand and AI monetization. Magnificent Seven Earnings Remain Robust: MSFT, AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive. Wells Fargo raised its Microsoft price target to a Street-high $700 from $650 and maintained an overweight rating, citing the company’s growth prospects and ecosystem strength. Wells Fargo Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI and cloud ecosystem through partnerships, including S&P Global data in Microsoft 365 Copilot, broader enterprise adoption in Brazil and Sionic’s instant-payment service on Microsoft Marketplace. These initiatives could support platform usage and recurring revenue over time. S&P Global Expands Collaboration with Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may introduce another Maia AI processor as early as September highlight its strategy to use custom chips to improve Azure AI efficiency. The move could reduce costs and reliance on outside suppliers, but the financial benefits will depend on successful scaling. Microsoft Stock Drops While Maia Chip Ambitions Expand
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Microsoft’s rapidly rising AI infrastructure spending could pressure margins, cash flow and returns before new capacity generates sufficient revenue. The stock’s sharp rally since the earnings report also increases profit-taking and valuation sensitivity. Microsoft's AI Data Center Push: Growth Engine or Capex Trap?
• Negative Sentiment: A newly disclosed Windows zero-day vulnerability that may enable system-wide access adds reputational, remediation and potential liability concerns. Separate reports of pending investor lawsuits contribute to a cautious tone, although neither issue has yet altered Microsoft’s fundamental earnings outlook. New Windows Zero-Day Bug Published

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CLSA reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. China Renaissance decreased their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Company 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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