Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Wilkinson Global Asset Management cut its Microsoft position by 22% in the second quarter, selling 47,385 shares and retaining 168,153 shares worth approximately $62.7 million. Microsoft remains 5% of the fund’s portfolio and its sixth-largest holding.
• Microsoft shares opened at $525.18, near their one-year high, while analysts maintained a broadly positive view with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $578.73. Melius Research upgraded the stock to Buy with a $665 target, citing demand for Microsoft’s AI security, governance and Azure offerings.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, including revenue growth of 17.7% and earnings of $4.74 per share, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98. Key risks include heavy AI infrastructure spending, uncertainty over Copilot adoption and the loss of a senior AI executive to Amazon.

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,153 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 47,385 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.0% of Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $62,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodds Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 173.7% during the 2nd quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 288,945 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $107,782,000 after acquiring an additional 183,360 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 34,011 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $12,687,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,438 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,132,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, PTM Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 57.7% in the second quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Melius Research upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $665. The firm said rising corporate concerns about AI risks could increase demand for Microsoft’s security, governance and compliance products, while positioning Azure as a relatively dependable way to participate in the AI trend. Microsoft stock rises as Melius upgrades to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Broad market strength also supported MSFT. The Nasdaq reached a record as megacap technology stocks rallied on optimism about earnings growth, with Microsoft among the sector leaders. Expectations for strong technology-sector profits continue to support investor appetite for the shares. Nasdaq hits record as megacap gains offset elevated Treasury yields
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues expanding Copilot’s enterprise usefulness. Wood Mackenzie connected its proprietary energy data and analytics to Microsoft Copilot through a new Model Context Protocol connector, providing another example of specialized business content being integrated into Microsoft’s AI ecosystem. Wood Mackenzie connects energy intelligence with Microsoft Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Xbox and Xbox Game Pass releases provided a smaller consumer-business catalyst. New game launches may support engagement and subscription activity, although the impact is likely less significant than Azure and AI developments. Microsoft stock rises ahead of new Xbox game releases
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft and Meta reportedly encouraged employees to reduce their use of Anthropic’s Claude in favor of internal AI tools. The move could lower Microsoft’s external AI expenses and strengthen Copilot adoption, but it also indicates ongoing competition and uncertainty over which AI models will deliver the best economics. Microsoft and Meta steer staff from Anthropic Claude to in-house AI
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon hired longtime Microsoft AI executive Pedram Rezaei, formerly associated with Copilot. The departure could raise concerns about retaining senior AI talent as cloud and software rivals intensify their competition. Amazon hires a Microsoft AI leader
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on execution risks. Microsoft’s large backlog offers revenue visibility, but the timing of recognition, infrastructure spending and cash conversion could limit near-term benefits. Questions also remain about whether Copilot can become a breakout AI application. How much revenue visibility does Microsoft’s backlog provide?

Microsoft Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of MSFT opened at $525.18 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $492.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $431.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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