Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Venturi Wealth Management increased its Microsoft stake by 3.1% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 125,570 shares worth approximately $46.84 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, beating analyst estimates. Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $564.27.
• CEO Satya Nadella and EVP Takeshi Numoto sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, contributing to more than $50.65 million in insider sales over the past three months. Microsoft’s planned data-center expansion could support AI and Azure growth, but also raises concerns about capital spending, execution, competition and valuation.

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,570 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of Venturi Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $46,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 101,335 shares of company stock valued at $50,655,795. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $495.63 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business's 50 day moving average is $455.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to more than triple global data-center capacity to approximately 38 gigawatts by 2032. The expansion is intended to address server shortages that have forced Microsoft to turn away some AI and cloud customers, potentially allowing the company to capture more Azure demand and prevent business from shifting to rivals. Microsoft plans 38 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Microsoft’s AI and cloud growth. Recent commentary cites Azure revenue growth of 43%, expectations for further acceleration, and approximately 30 million paid Copilot seats—supporting the view that AI products are becoming meaningful enterprise businesses. Microsoft: Big Tech Winner Still On Sale
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets are moving higher, with a Yahoo Finance analyst survey cited at $572.92. Microsoft is also expanding Azure’s commercial ecosystem through partnerships such as Talkdesk’s Azure Marketplace integration, which could increase cloud consumption and simplify enterprise adoption. Microsoft Price Targets Are Rising
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reorganizing its reporting structure and plans to disclose quarterly Azure revenue beginning in fiscal 2027. Greater transparency may help investors assess cloud performance, but the reporting change itself does not alter fundamentals. Microsoft’s Azure Reporting Shift Adds Clarity
• Neutral Sentiment: Longtime communications chief Frank Shaw is leaving after nearly three decades, a senior leadership transition that may attract attention but is not currently tied to a change in strategy. Frank Shaw leaving Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: The data-center buildout will require very large capital expenditures, raising concerns about power availability, construction costs, free cash flow and returns on investment. The company’s recent capacity constraints also highlight execution risk. Microsoft’s AI Crunch Forced It to Turn Away Business
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing competition from Alphabet and other cloud providers, alongside security and productivity risks from bring-your-own-device users and concerns that Microsoft’s valuation already reflects substantial AI growth.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $564.27.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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