Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Trimmed by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 235,388 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,070 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.8% of Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $86,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% during 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI to strengthen Europe-focused AI infrastructure and bring Mistral models deeper into Microsoft’s cloud and AI platforms, reinforcing its long-term AI growth story. Reuters article on Microsoft funding Mistral’s European AI expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley turned constructive on Microsoft, saying sentiment on software stocks has become too negative and assigning MSFT an Overweight rating with a $600 price target. Investopedia article on Morgan Stanley software picks
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators say Microsoft could be undervalued heading into earnings, with several pieces arguing the stock may be a bargain if Azure growth and AI execution improve. TipRanks article on Microsoft as a bargain ahead of earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal Q4 results on July 29, and investors are focusing on Azure growth, AI spending, and Copilot adoption as the key questions for the call. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft earnings and Azure growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded AI deal with AMD also supports the bull case for Azure infrastructure, but it underscores that Microsoft is still spending heavily to secure future AI capacity rather than immediately harvesting profits. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft expanding AMD partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued fresh class-action reminders tied to Microsoft’s alleged AI misstatements, keeping legal risk in the spotlight and adding pressure on sentiment. Pomerantz class-action alert for Microsoft investors
• Negative Sentiment: Headlines about a securities fraud lawsuit and allegations that Microsoft overstated Copilot functionality may weigh on the stock by reinforcing concerns around AI execution and disclosure. PR Newswire lawsuit notice on Microsoft Copilot functionality

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $397.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $399.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $409.57. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. 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 currently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $502.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Argus dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $556.37.

Microsoft 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).