Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 36.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,999 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 34,204 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.2% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $401.99 and a 200-day moving average of $413.41. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Microsoft’s AI strategy as a growth driver, including comments from CEO Satya Nadella about “the next massive AI trade” and enterprise customers integrating more partner AI tools into Microsoft’s ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained constructive ahead of Microsoft’s late-July earnings report, with bullish notes pointing to strong Azure growth, large commercial backlog, and expectations that AI spending can support longer-term revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple market write-ups argued Microsoft may be undervalued after this year’s pullback, with some firms seeing meaningful upside if the company converts AI and Azure demand into earnings growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft continues to draw long-term investor support from institutional buying, government contract wins, and favorable analyst ratings, which helps reinforce confidence but is not a fresh catalyst by itself. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are also being weighed by class-action lawsuit headlines tied to alleged Copilot-related misrepresentations and securities fraud claims, which add legal overhang and headline risk for investors. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern also remains centered on Microsoft’s heavy AI capital spending and environmental impact, with some commentary questioning whether rising capex and emissions can eventually pressure margins or sentiment. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. New Street Research dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.84.

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).