Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Van Cleef Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• Van Cleef Asset Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 2.1% in the second quarter, selling 2,627 shares. It still held 121,368 shares worth approximately $45.3 million, representing 4.6% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, while CEO Satya Nadella and other insiders have recently sold shares. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 43 Buy ratings and an average price target of $569.29.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS beating estimates. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, though investors continue to weigh AI infrastructure costs, privacy concerns and competitive risks.

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,368 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,627 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.6% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $45,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $2,616,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant's stock worth $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Copilot remains the primary catalyst. Jefferies reiterated its bullish view, citing Microsoft’s redesigned Copilot, new usage-based revenue opportunities and potential for paid Copilot seats to double over the next year. Enterprise AI adoption, however, is expected to build gradually. Jefferies Doubles Down on Microsoft's Copilot Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see further upside. JPMorgan maintained a Buy rating with a $625 target, while RBC reportedly set a $640 target, supported by Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. The stock is also on track for its strongest quarterly performance in decades, reflecting a market “flight to quality.” Microsoft Stock Surges Past $500
• Positive Sentiment: Azure and enterprise demand support the long-term case. Recent commentary points to Azure growth above 40%, rapidly increasing Copilot seats and a commercial backlog approaching $700 billion. Microsoft is also bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” AI workers into its enterprise security ecosystem, potentially expanding cloud and software consumption. Microsoft Brings OpenAI's Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: AI policy developments remain mixed. President Trump reaffirmed support for data centers and announced voluntary AI controls with Microsoft and other technology companies, potentially easing regulatory concerns while leaving uncertainty over whether voluntary safeguards will be sufficient. At A.I. Event, Trump Asks Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft to Make Safety Decisions Themselves
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and competitive risks are weighing on sentiment. Reports that humans may review some Copilot prompts have raised data-privacy concerns. OpenAI is also launching workplace features that increasingly resemble Microsoft Office, intensifying the risk that a key partner could compete directly with Microsoft’s software franchise. OpenAI Takes on Microsoft With a ChatGPT Office Suite
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning the cost and valuation of the AI buildout. Microsoft is reducing staff while committing heavily to data centers, and some analysts argue that cash-flow benefits may take longer to materialize. After its rally, elevated expectations leave less room for execution setbacks.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $569.29.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $508.96 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The stock's 50 day moving average is $482.29 and its 200-day moving average is $427.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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