WCM Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

WCM Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,924,322 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 18,644 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.6% of WCM Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $690,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during the third 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 buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, CLSA reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.87.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.1%

Microsoft stock opened at $487.46 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $402.41 and its 200 day moving average is $406.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business 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%.Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI growth remain the main bullish drivers. Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for fiscal 2026, while fourth-quarter cloud growth accelerated to 43%. Microsoft also reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, both ahead of consensus estimates. Microsoft Azure Fiscal 2026 Sales Exceed $100B
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence is strengthening. Tigress Financial raised its Microsoft price target to $690, citing durable AI and cloud growth, while Goldman Sachs reportedly added Microsoft to its high-conviction list. Tigress Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its enterprise AI ecosystem through an A10 Networks warrant, a healthcare partnership with Assuta Medical Centers and deeper use of OpenAI models in GitHub Copilot. These developments could support AI adoption and recurring software demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI concentration is drawing investor attention. Reports suggest OpenAI may represent roughly 70% of Microsoft’s AI revenue, highlighting both the commercial value of the partnership and the risk of relying heavily on one customer and technology partner. OpenAI May Account for 70% of Microsoft’s AI Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are reassessing valuation after a sharp rally. Commentary increasingly describes Microsoft as potentially overvalued or technically extended, encouraging profit-taking despite strong fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and insider-selling headlines add pressure. Multiple law firms promoted a securities-fraud class action alleging misleading Copilot and Azure-related disclosures, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Separately, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares worth approximately $2.4 million, reducing his direct ownership by 10.13%.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces scrutiny over AI infrastructure spending, including more than $100 billion in future data-center lease commitments across Big Tech and potential optical-component supply constraints. These commitments could improve long-term capacity but raise concerns about capital intensity, execution and near-term margins.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 28,572 shares of company stock worth $12,896,430 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).