NewEdge Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

NewEdge Wealth LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 768,837 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,636 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.4% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $284,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 13.2% in the first quarter. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC now owns 12,748 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division now owns 107,151 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,664,000 after purchasing an additional 24,497 shares in the last quarter. Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd now owns 130,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $48,174,000 after purchasing an additional 45,860 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 256,556 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $94,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

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.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. China Renaissance decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

MSFT stock opened at $499.99 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $404.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.96.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 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).