Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Sarasin & Partners LLP’s 3rd Largest Position

Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,519,029 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 48,056 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.6% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $566,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in 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 buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in Microsoft by 138.8% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $483.24 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $419.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $409.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly preparing to launch its Maia 300 AI accelerator as soon as this fall and is discussing production with TSMC. Developing proprietary chips could reduce long-term reliance on Nvidia, improve supply-chain control, and support Microsoft’s expanding AI infrastructure. Microsoft’s Betting Big on Its Own AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Meta has reportedly become one of Microsoft’s largest Azure AI customers, spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually and consuming substantial computing capacity. The relationship reinforces evidence that enterprise demand is translating into Azure revenue. Meta Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.91 per share, while Azure revenue reportedly surpassed $100 billion. Analysts and financial commentators also highlighted a roughly $678 billion backlog and continued strong demand for cloud and AI services. Microsoft Raises Dividend as AI Capital Spending Hits Record Levels
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the Horizon 1 Texas data-center project involving IREN, potentially expanding capacity available for AI workloads. The development is strategically relevant, although the near-term financial benefit to Microsoft remains unclear. Microsoft Accepts Horizon 1
• Negative Sentiment: Annual capital spending has climbed nearly 80% to about $115.9 billion, while free cash flow declined. Investors remain focused on whether AI revenue growth will generate adequate returns on this spending. Microsoft Spent $115.9 Billion on AI
• Negative Sentiment: TCI Management reportedly exited its Microsoft position and increased its Alphabet stake, adding a notable institutional-selling signal. Separately, commentary warned that Microsoft’s valuation depends on optimistic earnings forecasts, while higher bond yields could reduce the present value of future AI profits. TCI Exits Microsoft

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $528.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.

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).