Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers reduced its Microsoft position by 7.1% in the first quarter, selling 60,247 shares and retaining 784,119 shares worth approximately $290.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported a strong quarter, with revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst estimates. Azure revenue grew 43% year over year, while Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats.
• Insiders sold 23,762 shares worth about $10.5 million during the quarter, while analysts maintained a broadly positive outlook. Microsoft has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $558.64, though investors face risks from high AI spending, regulatory scrutiny and cloud-security concerns.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 784,119 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 60,247 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.6% of Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $290,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised 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 valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Microsoft by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock worth $131,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 138.8% during 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Microsoft Stock Up 3.0%

Microsoft stock opened at $464.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $397.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $405.96.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. President Capital boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.64.

About Microsoft

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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