Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is NewEdge Wealth LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

NewEdge Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 768,837 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,636 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.4% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $284,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Microsoft by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after buying an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. CLSA restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $646.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.87.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $404.86 and its 200-day moving average is $406.96. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 is currently 20.27%.

More Microsoft News

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.

Microsoft 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).