Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Lifted by Rice Partnership LLC

Key Points

• Rice Partnership increased its Microsoft stake by 2.8% in the first quarter, owning 70,954 shares valued at approximately $26.3 million. Microsoft represents about 3.6% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of MSFT.
• Microsoft reported strong operating momentum, with quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst expectations. Azure and AI demand remain key growth drivers, including a 43% increase in quarterly cloud revenue.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, but risks persist. Microsoft has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $558.87 average price target, while insider selling, heavy AI infrastructure spending and reliance on OpenAI could create near-term pressure.

Rice Partnership LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,954 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.6% of Rice Partnership LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI growth are the main catalysts. Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for fiscal 2026, while fourth-quarter cloud revenue increased 43%. Microsoft also exceeded quarterly revenue and earnings expectations, supporting optimism that AI demand is translating into recurring cloud and enterprise revenue. Microsoft Azure Fiscal 2026 Sales Exceed $100B
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint in India. The company opened its largest Indian data-center hub in Hyderabad and signed early customers including Adani Group and HDFC Bank. Microsoft has committed approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian operations, positioning Azure for growth in a large and rapidly developing market. Microsoft Opens Its Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive. Analysts have raised price targets, including Tigress Financial’s $690 target, citing durable AI and cloud growth. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet, recurring software revenue and approximately $0.91 quarterly dividend also provide support for the long-term investment case. Tigress Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is a significant growth engine but also a concentration risk. Reports estimate that OpenAI may account for roughly 70% of Microsoft’s AI revenue. The relationship boosts near-term demand, but reliance on one partner could increase volatility if economics, technology preferences or customer concentration change. OpenAI May Account for 70 Percent of Microsoft AI Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and legal notices may temper sentiment. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares worth about $4.9 million, following EVP Takeshi Numoto’s sale of approximately $2.4 million. Multiple law firms are also promoting a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These items do not establish wrongdoing, but they can add near-term headline pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is increasing execution and margin risks. Large data-center commitments and infrastructure spending are necessary to support demand, but could pressure free cash flow and margins if capacity is built ahead of revenue or component shortages delay deployments. Microsoft’s valuation also leaves less room for disappointment after its sharp rally.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $499.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $403.86 and a 200 day moving average of $406.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 $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 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Evercore set a $528.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $558.87.

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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