Sapient Capital LLC Decreases Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 21.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 478,616 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 132,957 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $177,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Southern Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 1,947 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Steelhead Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $467,000. S&A Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,039,000. E Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.1% during the first quarter. E Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LFG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.2% during the first quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,491,000 after buying an additional 5,940 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s 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 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $414.21 and its 200-day moving average is $408.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. China Renaissance dropped their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.27.

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).