Insider Selling: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Sells 1,262 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Microsoft EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares on May 14 at an average price of $411.34, totaling about $519,111. Her remaining stake was valued at roughly $18.9 million after the sale.
• Microsoft shares were up modestly, trading around $423.54, while the company continued to show strong fundamentals with better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue growth of 18.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, reflecting an annualized yield of about 0.9% and a payout ratio of 21.67%.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MSFT traded up $1.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $423.54. 32,488,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,573,527. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $398.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.75. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A jury ruled against Elon Musk in the OpenAI case, clearing Microsoft from liability and easing concerns about a legal threat to its AI partnership and long-term OpenAI exposure. Jury finds Musk waited too long to sue OpenAI and Microsoft, clearing defendants in landmark AI case
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary says Microsoft’s enterprise AI momentum remains strong, with Azure growth and Copilot adoption still accelerating despite higher capital spending. Microsoft Rides on Enterprise AI Advancements: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a large new Microsoft position, signaling confidence in the stock’s valuation and AI growth story. MSFT Stock Alert: What to Know as Bill Ackman Adds Microsoft Position
• Positive Sentiment: Other articles highlighted Microsoft as an attractive long-term AI and value opportunity, reinforcing the bullish narrative after a period of underperformance versus other mega-cap tech stocks.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several fund filings showed mixed ownership changes, with some managers trimming Microsoft while others added to positions; this looks more like portfolio rebalancing than a clear fundamental warning.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Gates Foundation’s exit from Microsoft is notable, but it appears tied to a charitable wind-down rather than a fresh negative view on the business.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports flagged ongoing concerns around Microsoft’s GitHub AI competition, elevated AI infrastructure spending, and public resistance to new data centers, which could pressure margins or slow expansion over time.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.88.

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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