Stolper Co Sells 12,780 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Stolper Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,093 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 12,780 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.6% of Stolper Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Stolper Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 108,335 shares of company stock valued at $53,499,700. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, CLSA reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment 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.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.49.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft will begin reporting quarterly Azure revenue in fiscal 2027 and reorganize its financial reporting from three segments into two AI-focused categories. Azure generated approximately $29.4 billion in quarterly revenue and $101.9 billion for fiscal 2026, providing investors with more visibility into cloud growth and AI demand. Microsoft to reveal Azure cloud sales in financial reporting shift
• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed a Buy rating and $600 price target, while other analysts cited Microsoft’s large AI backlog, Azure’s more than $100 billion annual revenue and the potential for improved AI economics. The company’s latest earnings also showed strong momentum, with revenue up 17.7% year over year and a substantial earnings beat. Analyst reaffirms Buy on Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft-backed OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra, potentially strengthening Microsoft’s AI ecosystem and demand for Azure infrastructure. Microsoft is also securing long-term power capacity for data centers and expanding Microsoft 365 Copilot integrations. OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares worth about $43.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the sale limits its significance, although it reduced his holdings by 15.09% and adds to recent insider selling.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft will impose monthly limits on Xbox cloud-gaming hours for Game Pass subscribers beginning in November as service costs rise. The change may improve economics but could hurt consumer sentiment and gaming engagement. Microsoft to impose time limits on Xbox cloud gaming
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s roughly $116 billion AI infrastructure spending plan, rising data-center costs and pressure on cloud margins. The key risk is whether the large backlog converts into profitable cash flow rather than simply future revenue.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $510.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $441.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $415.21. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its 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 analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

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).