Cim LLC Lowers Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Cim LLC cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 28.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,653 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,771 shares during the period. Cim LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,562,197,000 after acquiring an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $495.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $411.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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. 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.27.

Microsoft Company 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).