Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Sapient Capital cut its Microsoft position by 21.7% during the first quarter, selling 132,957 shares and retaining 478,616 shares valued at approximately $177.1 million. Microsoft remains the fund’s sixth-largest holding at 2.7% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, surpassing estimates. Azure and Copilot growth continue to support the company’s AI monetization outlook.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $560.27, despite several recent target reductions. Microsoft also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 478,616 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 132,957 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.7% of Sapient Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $177,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th 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, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Dbs Bank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.27.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The firm's 50 day moving average is $414.21 and its 200-day moving average is $408.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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