Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Trimmed by Aureus Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Aureus Asset Management trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.6% in the first quarter, selling 5,120 shares and retaining 194,078 shares valued at approximately $71.8 million. Microsoft remains the firm’s second-largest holding and represents 4.8% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $558.87.
• Microsoft’s AI and Azure growth continue to support investor optimism, but rising data-center costs, customer concentration and recent insider selling present risks. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, implying a 0.7% yield.

Aureus Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 194,078 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,120 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.8% of Aureus Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Aureus Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $71,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. AR Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the first quarter. AR Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,098 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,699 shares during the last quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.9% in the first quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,648 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the last quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% in the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 6,508 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Barbara Oil Co. increased its stake in Microsoft by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Barbara Oil Co. now owns 23,220 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,595,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, Wiregrass Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC now owns 12,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,719,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. New Street Research reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $570.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $404.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $406.96. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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