Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Hendley & Co. Inc.

Hendley & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,866 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 12,035 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.1% of Hendley & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Hendley & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northstar Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 23,272 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Capital Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mountain Capital Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,219 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 8,822 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Seaview Investment Managers LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 24.0% during the second quarter. Seaview Investment Managers LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,941,000 after purchasing an additional 5,156 shares during the period. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 38.0% during the second quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 30,528 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,388,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin disclosing quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and consolidate its reporting structure from three segments to two. The added transparency should allow investors to compare Azure more directly with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and could highlight the scale of AI-driven demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $500, citing accelerating Azure growth, improving AI efficiency and more than 30 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats. The bullish view reinforces expectations that Microsoft can convert AI infrastructure spending into higher revenue and earnings. Microsoft's AI strategy accelerates cloud growth and efficiency: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI ecosystem through a 20-year power agreement supporting a planned West Texas data center, a HUMAIN partnership targeting up to one million enterprise users in the Middle East and Africa, and new Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. These agreements support long-term cloud, infrastructure and productivity growth, although near-term profitability depends on execution. Microsoft Signed a 20-Year AI Power Deal With Chevron
• Neutral Sentiment: An EU court rejected Opera’s challenge to Microsoft Edge’s exemption from certain Digital Markets Act obligations. The ruling reduces an immediate regulatory burden for Edge, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. EU court rejects Opera challenge against Microsoft's Edge exemption
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 MSFT shares worth approximately $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although scheduled sales generally do not signal a change in business outlook, the transaction reduced his position by 15.09%; broader insider activity has also consisted entirely of sales over the past six months. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion in annual property and equipment spending. The AI buildout could drive substantial growth, but depreciation, power constraints and uncertain returns may pressure margins if demand fails to keep pace. Big Tech Spent Over $1 Trillion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of a controversial Windows 11 feature, continuing concerns about a Microsoft 365 outage, and criticism surrounding 3,200 Xbox job cuts. These issues may weigh on user sentiment and highlight risks in Microsoft’s consumer and gaming businesses. Xbox layoffs

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $562.49.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 108,335 shares of company stock valued at $53,499,700 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $496.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $438.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $414.45. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

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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