Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 12th, 2026

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 346,829 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,771 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.0% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $128,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% in the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Dbs Bank cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.16.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest earnings showed stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue, with Azure growth and Copilot adoption reinforcing the view that substantial AI investment is beginning to generate returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors continue to favor Microsoft over some other mega-cap technology names. Hedge Funds Favor Microsoft Over Meta Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target to $660 and maintained an Outperform rating, arguing that Microsoft’s data-center expansion is measured, flexible, and supported by durable cloud demand. Other analysts also identified Azure growth, backlog, and institutional buying as potential catalysts for a year-end rally. Bernstein Raises Microsoft Target Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may unveil its Maia 300 AI chip as early as September and secure production capacity for more than 300,000 units could reduce reliance on Nvidia processors, lower long-term AI costs, and support Microsoft’s cloud strategy. Microsoft Maia 300 Chip Report Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $407.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $407.37. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling In other Microsoft 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 value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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).

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Atlassian Just Pulled Off the Software Comeback Wall Street Wanted AST SpaceMobile Earnings Just Reminded Investors How Risky Space Can Be NVIDIA’s Rally Sets Up a Bigger Test Ahead of Earnings Apple’s Next iPhone Could Test How Much Pricing Power Is Left

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINEAssenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in TotalEnergies SE Sponsored ADR $TTE

NEXT HEADLINE »Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Stock Position in Dimensional International Core Equity 2 ETF $DFIC

For the last five years, I've been the person rolling my eyes at Microsoft's (MSFT -0.45%) valuation and calling it priced for perfection. Today, after its latest set of numbers and the way the company has embedded itself into AI, cloud, and everyday work, I'm finally willing to say it: At these levels, Microsoft is an easy buy for a long‑term investor.

Back in the 2021 to 2022 time frame, my skepticism sounded reasonable. Microsoft was trading at a rich multiple compared with its own history, and it felt like everyone already knew the bull case: dominant Windows, sticky Office, and fast‑growing Azure. I kept waiting for growth to slow or margins to crack.

Instead, 2026 gave a very different picture. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, Microsoft's revenue climbed 18% to more than $331 billion, while operating income rose 21% to more than $155 billion. Net income hit $133.7 billion, with full‑year EPS growth comfortably above 20% even after stripping out gains from OpenAI and Anthropic investments. Those are not the numbers of a mature company just coasting on its legacy.

Image source: Getty Images.

Microsoft is turning into an AI tycoon The AI story is where I was most wrong. I assumed the AI halo would be mostly narrative. Instead, it has become a concrete, growing business.

In the latest quarter, revenue reached $90 billion, up 18% year over year, driven by 32% growth in the Intelligent Cloud segment and Azure revenue now surpassing $100 billion annually. Microsoft says its AI business has crossed a $37 billion annual run rate, growing 123% year over year. This is not really a side hustle. It's a growth engine.

On top of this, Azure grew 43% year over year in fiscal Q4 2026, and  CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft's custom AI chips can deliver up to 40% better performance per watt, potentially improving cloud margins and earnings.

Today's Change

(

-0.45

%) $

-2.25

Current Price

$

503.81

Copilot is the clearest proof that this is real monetization, not just GPU reselling. Microsoft 365 Copilot has already passed 30 million paid seats, with net seat adds more than doubling quarter over quarter as enterprises move from pilots to production.

Microsoft is rolling Copilot out across knowledge work, coding, security, and even as a super app that ties consumer and commercial experiences together. That means AI is getting woven into the subscription backbone of the company's productivity and business software.

The part that finally changed my mind, though, is the valuation-versus-execution debate. As of early August 2026, Microsoft trades at a trailing P/E of 28 to 28.5, which is slightly below its 10‑year average of 30. Forward P/E estimates sit around 25 based on current consensus, even as the company continues to grow revenue in the high teens and EPS in the low-to-mid‑20s.

That is not cheap in an absolute sense, but for a business with Microsoft's moat and growth profile, it looks more like fair for a wonderful company than irrational exuberance.

I think it's time to buy Could I wait for a better entry point? Sure. There will always be a pullback. But the last five years have taught me that trying to shave a few multiple points off the price has been far more costly than simply owning a compounding machine that keeps finding new profit pools -- first cloud, now AI, and next whatever sits on top of that stack.

Microsoft today is not just a safe blue chip; it is one of the few companies genuinely defining the next era of enterprise computing. I spent half a decade treating it as too expensive. Now I'm much more worried about the opportunity cost of staying on the sidelines.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Microsoft Corporation, (“Microsoft” or the "Company") (NASDAQ: MSFT) investors of a class action on behalf of investors that bought securities between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Microsoft investors have until August 11, 2026 to file a lead plaintiff motion.

Microsoft (MSFT -0.45%) is gaining momentum after reporting quarterly financial results.

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of Aug. 6, 2026. The video was published on Aug.8, 2026.

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has positions in Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: MSFT).   Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

The bull market that began in late 2022 has in recent months appeared to have run its course. Experts say that may be the opposite of what was happening.

If I had to bet on one Buffett‑worthy stock that Warren Buffett himself never pulled the trigger on but Greg Abel could eventually bless, my money would be on Microsoft (MSFT +1.21%).

Buffett has said for years that he admires the business but stayed away for reasons that had little to do with fundamentals. That's exactly what makes it such an interesting candidate in the Abel era.

Former Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. Image source: The Motley Fool.

Buffett has been uncharacteristically blunt about why Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB +1.46%) (BRKA +1.76%) never owned Microsoft. He's called his failure to buy in early "stupidity," but once his friendship with Bill Gates deepened and Gates joined Berkshire's board, he decided buying Microsoft would always look like a conflict of interest, even if nothing improper occurred.

In his words, "It just would be a mistake for Berkshire to buy Microsoft" because if the stock popped on earnings or an acquisition right after a purchase, critics would assume Gates had leaked information. So Microsoft became one of a small handful of companies explicitly "off the list," not because it failed Berkshire's investment criteria, but because of optics and ethics.

Today's Change

(

1.21

%) $

6.07

Current Price

$

506.06

Abel is a different leader Those constraints look different under Greg Abel. Gates is no longer on Berkshire's board, the Buffett and Bill era has clearly passed, and Abel has already pushed the portfolio toward more technology and AI‑linked names, including a large expansion of Berkshire's Alphabet position. The ethical rationale for avoiding Microsoft is weaker than it was a decade ago, yet the business is even more clearly a fit for the Berkshire mold.

Microsoft looks Buffett-investor-friendly On the numbers, Microsoft looks like the kind of wonderful company trading at a fair price Buffett has always said he prefers. In fiscal 2026, Microsoft's revenue grew 18% to more than $331 billion, with operating income up 21% and net income up 31%.

The company's cloud and AI engine is extraordinary: In Q4 alone, revenue hit $90 billion, Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion (up 27%), and the AI business crossed a $37 billion annual run rate, growing 123% year over year. Those are wide‑moat economics -- recurring subscription revenue, mission‑critical software, and a dominant cloud platform that enterprises are building on for the next decade.

Valuation, which kept many value investors cautious for years, no longer looks absurd next to that growth profile. As of early August 2026, Microsoft traded at a trailing P/E just under 29, slightly below its 10‑year average of around 30, and forward estimates put the multiple closer to 25. For a business with high‑teens revenue growth, very high returns on capital, and a fortress balance sheet, that is more of a justified premium than bubble territory.

Most importantly, Microsoft fits the qualitative side of the Berkshire checklist. It has:

A durable competitive advantage in operating systems, productivity software, and cloud infrastructure. Products that are deeply embedded in customer workflows, which makes revenue highly sticky. Management that has shown disciplined capital allocation, reinvesting heavily in cloud and AI while still returning cash via dividends and buybacks. Abel has already demonstrated that he is willing to own complex tech businesses when their economics are undeniable, as evidenced by Berkshire's growing Alphabet stake. Microsoft is cut from the same cloth.

No one outside Omaha can know what Berkshire will actually buy next. But if you strip away the personal history and focus purely on the mold (high‑quality, cash‑gushing, competitively entrenched, and sensibly valued), Microsoft looks like exactly the kind of stock Buffett spent decades praising but not owning, and the kind Abel may one day be far less hesitant to make a cornerstone holding.

, /PRNewswire/ -- The Gross Law Firm issues the following notice to shareholders of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Shareholders who purchased shares of MSFT during the class period listed are encouraged to contact the firm regarding possible lead plaintiff appointment. Appointment as lead plaintiff is not required to partake in any recovery.

CONTACT US HERE:

https://securitiesclasslaw.com/securities/microsoft-corporation-loss-submission-form/?id=199984&from=4

CLASS PERIOD: May 1, 2025 to January 28, 2026

ALLEGATIONS: The complaint alleges that during the class period, Defendants issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) Microsoft's Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems; (b) Microsoft's flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests; (c) Microsoft needed to increase by billions of dollars its capital expenditures and divert GPU and CPU capacity away from fulfilling demand for its profitable Azure services in order to improve the competitive positioning of its critical Copilot family of products and increase its AI-related R&D; and (d) as a result of (a)-(c) above, Microsoft had failed to convert a significant percentage of its commercial Microsoft 365 users to paid Copilot subscriptions and the Company's Copilot offerings had lost market share to rival products, a trend that was increasing.

DEADLINE: August 11, 2026 Shareholders should not delay in registering for this class action. Register your information here: https://securitiesclasslaw.com/securities/microsoft-corporation-loss-submission-form/?id=199984&from=4

NEXT STEPS FOR SHAREHOLDERS: Once you register as a shareholder who purchased shares of MSFT during the timeframe listed above, you will be enrolled in a portfolio monitoring software to provide you with status updates throughout the lifecycle of the case. The deadline to seek to be a lead plaintiff is August 11, 2026. There is no cost or obligation to you to participate in this case.

WHY GROSS LAW FIRM? The Gross Law Firm is a nationally recognized class action law firm, and our mission is to protect the rights of all investors who have suffered as a result of deceit, fraud, and illegal business practices. The Gross Law Firm is committed to ensuring that companies adhere to responsible business practices and engage in good corporate citizenship. The firm seeks recovery on behalf of investors who incurred losses when false and/or misleading statements or the omission of material information by a company lead to artificial inflation of the company's stock. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:
The Gross Law Firm
15 West 38th Street, 12th floor
New York, NY, 10018
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (646) 453-8903The

SOURCE The Gross Law Firm

Microsoft remains a Buy after a 31% rally, driven by accelerating Azure growth and robust commercial backlog. Microsoft's hyperscale infrastructure and AI investments create a nearly unassailable moat, with $115.9B capex supported by $182.9B operating cash flow. AI model commoditization strengthens Microsoft's position as an operating layer, with Foundry and Fabric anchoring enterprise demand and workflow integration.

August is a natural moment for investors to reflect on the remainder of the year. Summer is ending, and Wall Street is about to deploy sidelined funds for an end-of-year push. For long-term investors, stepping back to ask which businesses have already produced multi-decade compounding — and whether the moats that drove those returns are still intact today — is useful.

Past performance does not guarantee future returns. Durable competitive advantages, however, tend to persist, and the three names below have spent decades widening theirs. Here are three generational compounders that have made patient shareholders rich and that still look positioned to do it again.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) is the textbook example of a moat that keeps widening. The stock trades around $306.58 as of Aug. 10, with a market cap of roughly $4.47 trillion. Over the trailing 10 years, shares have gained 1,021% on an adjusted basis, and the stock is up 35% over the past year. Apple is also Warren Buffett’s largest equity position, sitting at about 22% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio per the Q2 2026 13F.

The bull case is the installed base and the recurring revenue that sits on top of it. In Q2 FY26, Apple reported EPS of $2.01 against a $1.94 estimate, on revenue of $111.18 billion, up 17% year over year. iPhone revenue jumped to $56.99 billion, Services hit $30.98 billion and the active device base now exceeds 2.5 billion. Management lifted the dividend 4% to 27 cents quarterly and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analyst consensus is 63% bullish, with an average target of $312.72.

The risk: valuation is full at 35x trailing earnings, and Apple remains exposed to global trade frictions and supply-chain concentration. A long-term holder is paying a premium for durability, and that premium is real.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) is the dividend-compounder benchmark. The shares trade around $86.60, up more than 25% year to date and over 97% over the past decade on an adjusted basis. Coca-Cola has been a core Berkshire holding since the late 1980s, and the company just extended its dividend streak to 63-plus consecutive years of annual increases, putting it firmly in Dividend King territory.

The recent fundamentals back up the moat story. In Q1 2026, Coca-Cola posted EPS of 86 cents against an 81-cent estimate on revenue of $12.47 billion, up 12% year over year. Organic revenue grew 10%, unit case volume rose 3% and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar volume climbed 13% across every geography. Operating margin expanded to 35% from 33%, and free cash flow surged to $1.76 billion. Management raised 2026 guidance to comparable EPS growth of 8% to 9% and free cash flow near $12.2 billion. The current quarterly dividend sits at $0.53, up from $0.51 in 2025.

The risk: a $960 million BODYARMOR trademark impairment last quarter, ongoing IRS tax litigation, and a roughly 4% revenue headwind from divestitures including the pending Coca-Cola Beverages Africa sale. None of those threaten the franchise; they do compress near-term reported growth.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the third leg of this stool, and arguably the most interesting today because it has bounced back nicely. Shares trade around $508.28, up 7.47% year to date after a challenging first half. The 10-year adjusted return is more than 782%. Microsoft has compounded enormously since the early 1990s on a split-adjusted basis, and the AI/cloud cycle reads like the next chapter rather than the end of one.

The numbers are doing the talking. In Q3 FY26, Microsoft reported EPS of $4.27 against a $4.07 estimate on revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18% year over year. Intelligent Cloud revenue grew 30% to $34.68 billion, Azure expanded 40%, and the AI business crossed a $37 billion annualized run rate, up 123% year over year. Commercial remaining performance obligations, essentially contracted backlog, hit $627 billion. CEO Satya Nadella framed it bluntly: “Our AI business surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $37 billion, up 123% year-over-year.” Analyst consensus is 95% bullish with a target of $561.39.

The risk: capital intensity. CapEx ran $30.88 billion in the quarter, up 84% year over year, and the market is openly debating whether AI infrastructure spending will earn an adequate return. That debate is the entire reason the stock is on sale.

What to watch from here The thread connecting Apple, Coca-Cola and Microsoft is a competitive position that survives recessions, technology shifts and management changes. The next decade will test each moat in different ways: Apple against trade and regulatory pressure, Coca-Cola against shifting consumer preferences, Microsoft against the return-on-AI-investment question. For long-term investors thinking past August, those are the right questions to be asking.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Compound Planning Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,001 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,044 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.3% of Compound Planning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Compound Planning Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after acquiring an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 chip plans support the rally: Reports say Microsoft could unveil its Maia 300 AI accelerator as early as September and secure capacity for more than 300,000 chips by 2027, with longer-term ambitions exceeding one million units. The effort could reduce Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia, lower AI-computing costs and potentially attract customers such as Anthropic. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall Positive Sentiment: Analysts see measured AI investment and further upside: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target from $647 to $660, arguing that the company is not building data-center capacity too aggressively. The firm said new infrastructure would remain useful for Azure even if AI demand moderated. Microsoft’s Datacenter Spending Is Disciplined Positive Sentiment: Cloud growth and backlog underpin investor confidence: JPMorgan cited Microsoft’s Azure expansion, substantial backlog and improving AI monetization while supporting higher market-wide earnings forecasts. Other bullish commentary points to strong recent results, including reported Azure growth and broad Copilot adoption. Microsoft Stock Rises as JPMorgan Backs AI Payoff Positive Sentiment: Capital returns add support: Microsoft’s large-scale dividends and share repurchases reinforce its position as a cash-generating technology leader, although investors are also evaluating how much capital is being redirected toward AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Runs One of the Market’s Biggest Cash-Return Machines Neutral Sentiment: AI opportunity comes with execution risks: Analysts continue debating whether megacap AI spending will generate adequate cash flow. Separately, reports of AI models reaching real-world systems could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s autonomous-agent products and enterprise security controls. Negative Sentiment: Legal notices remain an overhang: Investor-rights firms are promoting a securities class action involving purchases made between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The notices do not establish liability but could add reputational and litigation risk. Microsoft Stock Up 1.2% MSFT opened at $506.06 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $405.77 and a 200 day moving average of $406.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.16.

Get Our Latest Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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).

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft SoundHound AI Sends a Loud Signal After Its Q2 Earnings Beat 3 Dividend Champion Utilities for a Market That Can’t Sit Still These 3 Most-Upgraded Stocks Have Almost Nothing to Do With AI First Solar’s Profit Engine Faces a New Policy Test in Washington Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 11th, 2026

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 47,402 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $17,547,000. Microsoft makes up about 0.8% of Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance Shares of MSFT opened at $506.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $405.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $406.95. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 chip plans support the rally: Reports say Microsoft could unveil its Maia 300 AI accelerator as early as September and secure capacity for more than 300,000 chips by 2027, with longer-term ambitions exceeding one million units. The effort could reduce Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia, lower AI-computing costs and potentially attract customers such as Anthropic. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall Positive Sentiment: Analysts see measured AI investment and further upside: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target from $647 to $660, arguing that the company is not building data-center capacity too aggressively. The firm said new infrastructure would remain useful for Azure even if AI demand moderated. Microsoft’s Datacenter Spending Is Disciplined Positive Sentiment: Cloud growth and backlog underpin investor confidence: JPMorgan cited Microsoft’s Azure expansion, substantial backlog and improving AI monetization while supporting higher market-wide earnings forecasts. Other bullish commentary points to strong recent results, including reported Azure growth and broad Copilot adoption. Microsoft Stock Rises as JPMorgan Backs AI Payoff Positive Sentiment: Capital returns add support: Microsoft’s large-scale dividends and share repurchases reinforce its position as a cash-generating technology leader, although investors are also evaluating how much capital is being redirected toward AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Runs One of the Market’s Biggest Cash-Return Machines Neutral Sentiment: AI opportunity comes with execution risks: Analysts continue debating whether megacap AI spending will generate adequate cash flow. Separately, reports of AI models reaching real-world systems could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s autonomous-agent products and enterprise security controls. Negative Sentiment: Legal notices remain an overhang: Investor-rights firms are promoting a securities class action involving purchases made between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The notices do not establish liability but could add reputational and litigation risk. Insider Buying and Selling In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.16.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

About Microsoft (Free Report)

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).

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft SoundHound AI Sends a Loud Signal After Its Q2 Earnings Beat 3 Dividend Champion Utilities for a Market That Can’t Sit Still These 3 Most-Upgraded Stocks Have Almost Nothing to Do With AI First Solar’s Profit Engine Faces a New Policy Test in Washington

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINEEverhart Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in iShares National Muni Bond ETF $MUB

NEXT HEADLINE »Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF $DFAI Stake Lifted by Financial Management Professionals Inc.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 11th, 2026

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 389,988 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 11,978 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.1% of Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $144,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in Microsoft by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $502,077,000 after buying an additional 788,297 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.16.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 chip plans support the rally: Reports say Microsoft could unveil its Maia 300 AI accelerator as early as September and secure capacity for more than 300,000 chips by 2027, with longer-term ambitions exceeding one million units. The effort could reduce Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia, lower AI-computing costs and potentially attract customers such as Anthropic. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall Positive Sentiment: Analysts see measured AI investment and further upside: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target from $647 to $660, arguing that the company is not building data-center capacity too aggressively. The firm said new infrastructure would remain useful for Azure even if AI demand moderated. Microsoft’s Datacenter Spending Is Disciplined Positive Sentiment: Cloud growth and backlog underpin investor confidence: JPMorgan cited Microsoft’s Azure expansion, substantial backlog and improving AI monetization while supporting higher market-wide earnings forecasts. Other bullish commentary points to strong recent results, including reported Azure growth and broad Copilot adoption. Microsoft Stock Rises as JPMorgan Backs AI Payoff Positive Sentiment: Capital returns add support: Microsoft’s large-scale dividends and share repurchases reinforce its position as a cash-generating technology leader, although investors are also evaluating how much capital is being redirected toward AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Runs One of the Market’s Biggest Cash-Return Machines Neutral Sentiment: AI opportunity comes with execution risks: Analysts continue debating whether megacap AI spending will generate adequate cash flow. Separately, reports of AI models reaching real-world systems could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s autonomous-agent products and enterprise security controls. Negative Sentiment: Legal notices remain an overhang: Investor-rights firms are promoting a securities class action involving purchases made between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The notices do not establish liability but could add reputational and litigation risk. Microsoft Stock Up 1.2% Shares of MSFT stock opened at $506.06 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $405.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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).

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft SoundHound AI Sends a Loud Signal After Its Q2 Earnings Beat 3 Dividend Champion Utilities for a Market That Can’t Sit Still These 3 Most-Upgraded Stocks Have Almost Nothing to Do With AI First Solar’s Profit Engine Faces a New Policy Test in Washington

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINEFocus Financial Network Inc. Sells 15,084 Shares of SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF $SPYV

NEXT HEADLINE »First Heartland Consultants Inc. Sells 13,262 Shares of FT Vest U.S. Equity Moderate Buffer ETF – September $GSEP

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 11th, 2026

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 68,351 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,512 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.7% of Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.2% NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $506.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $405.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $406.95. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.16.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft

Key Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 chip plans support the rally: Reports say Microsoft could unveil its Maia 300 AI accelerator as early as September and secure capacity for more than 300,000 chips by 2027, with longer-term ambitions exceeding one million units. The effort could reduce Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia, lower AI-computing costs and potentially attract customers such as Anthropic. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall Positive Sentiment: Analysts see measured AI investment and further upside: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target from $647 to $660, arguing that the company is not building data-center capacity too aggressively. The firm said new infrastructure would remain useful for Azure even if AI demand moderated. Microsoft’s Datacenter Spending Is Disciplined Positive Sentiment: Cloud growth and backlog underpin investor confidence: JPMorgan cited Microsoft’s Azure expansion, substantial backlog and improving AI monetization while supporting higher market-wide earnings forecasts. Other bullish commentary points to strong recent results, including reported Azure growth and broad Copilot adoption. Microsoft Stock Rises as JPMorgan Backs AI Payoff Positive Sentiment: Capital returns add support: Microsoft’s large-scale dividends and share repurchases reinforce its position as a cash-generating technology leader, although investors are also evaluating how much capital is being redirected toward AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Runs One of the Market’s Biggest Cash-Return Machines Neutral Sentiment: AI opportunity comes with execution risks: Analysts continue debating whether megacap AI spending will generate adequate cash flow. Separately, reports of AI models reaching real-world systems could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s autonomous-agent products and enterprise security controls. Negative Sentiment: Legal notices remain an overhang: Investor-rights firms are promoting a securities class action involving purchases made between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The notices do not establish liability but could add reputational and litigation risk. About Microsoft (Free Report)

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).

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft SoundHound AI Sends a Loud Signal After Its Q2 Earnings Beat 3 Dividend Champion Utilities for a Market That Can’t Sit Still These 3 Most-Upgraded Stocks Have Almost Nothing to Do With AI First Solar’s Profit Engine Faces a New Policy Test in Washington Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINETop Restaurant Stocks Worth Watching – August 9th

NEXT HEADLINE »Best Construction Stocks To Consider – August 9th

© Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg is on track to spend as much as $145 billion on AI infrastructure this year, a figure that would have looked absurd just two years ago. It is now merely his share of an industry outlay approaching $800 billion across the biggest U.S. tech names. Yet in a CNBC segment on August 10, 2026, Barclays Senior U.S. Economist Jonathan Millar delivered a sobering counterpoint: all that capital has not yet shown up as measurable productivity gains in the broader economy.

Millar’s framing is straightforward. “Spending on capex is not the same thing as productivity. And there’s a lot that comes in, in between in that process of actually making that new capital productive.” He argues that translating hardware and models into economic output requires organizational change, worker reskilling, and industry-wide restructuring, none of which happens on a quarterly cadence.

The 1980s Parallel Millar reached back four decades for a template. “Typically it plays out over the course of years. So if you remember the experience from the IT boom, we had computers, say in the 1980s, we were seeing lots of imprints from IT on the stock market, on investment and so forth. But it really wasn’t affecting productivity. And it took more than a decade for that to really show up in the numbers.”

The BEA data backs this up in real time. The Information sector grew just 1.5% in Q1 2026, decelerating from 2.5% in Q4 2025. Millar added that “industries adopting AI more rapidly do not appear to be experiencing faster growth.” Adoption surveys show breadth climbing steadily, but sustained daily productive use lags well behind.

Meta: The $145 Billion Bet Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) narrowed its full-year 2026 capex range to $130 billion to $145 billion. The strain is visible. Q2 free cash flow collapsed to $784 million, a -91.31% year-over-year decline, while long-term debt climbed to $83.66 billion. EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.2173 consensus, snapping a six-quarter beat streak, per the company’s Q2 8-K. Shares are down 9.72% year to date.

Amazon: $220 Billion and Still Short of Capacity Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is guiding to roughly $220 billion in cash capex. CEO Andy Jassy said “even at that amount, we will still not have enough capacity to meet all the demand we have in 2026.” AWS grew 36.7% in Q2, and the AI and chips businesses each cleared a $25 billion run rate. Shares are up 20.48% YTD.

Alphabet: $205 Billion and Supply Constrained Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) raised its 2026 capex range to $195 billion to $205 billion. Google Cloud revenue grew 82% in Q2 with backlog reaching $514 billion. CEO Sundar Pichai conceded the enterprise story is early: “Now think about what percentage of workloads are really AI-native and AI-enabled. It again feels like very, very early.” Shares are up 14.37% YTD.

Microsoft: $175 Billion With FCF Intact Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is set to spend around $175 billion. Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats. Commercial RPO stands at $625 billion. Shares are up 5.11% YTD.

What Investors Should Watch Millar’s argument resets the timeline for AI’s payoff. If the 1980s pattern holds, the productivity payoff from today’s $800 billion in annual capex may not surface in national statistics until organizations finish rewiring workflows and workforces. The bull case for these four names depends on execution reaching customers faster than debt costs and depreciation schedules bite. For now, Meta’s collapsing free cash flow is the sharpest reminder that the bill is arriving before the productivity is.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - August 10, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 11, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Microsoft common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Microsoft class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/microsoft-corporation/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 11, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Microsoft's Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems; (2) Microsoft's flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests; (3) Microsoft needed to increase by billions of dollars its capital expenditures and divert graphics processing unit ("GPU") and central processing unit ("CPU") capacity away from fulfilling demand for its profitable Azure services in order to improve the competitive positioning of its critical Copilot family of products and increase its AI-related research and development ("R&D"); and (4) as a result, Microsoft had failed to convert a significant percentage of its commercial Microsoft 365 users to paid Copilot subscriptions and Microsoft's Copilot offerings had lost market share to rival products, a trend that was increasing. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Microsoft class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/microsoft-corporation/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/308998

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

Ready to Announce with Confidence? Send us a message and a member of our TMX Newsfile team will contact you to discuss your needs.

Contact Us

HomeIndustriesInternet/Online ServicesTech StocksTech StocksThink Microsoft is overspending on AI? A Bernstein analyst says the company is actually taking a ‘measured’ approach.Aug. 10, 2026, 3:18 p.m. ET

Microsoft is staging an artificial-intelligence comeback that could power the stock to new highs, some on Wall Street believe.

Shares of Microsoft MSFT are up 30% since the company reported impressive fiscal fourth-quarter results at the end of July, putting the stock into positive territory for the year.

Bernstein is sticking with its Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rating while lifting its price target, arguing the company is taking a measured approach to capacity buildout despite strong demand signals.

The firm reiterated Microsoft at Outperform and raised its price target to $660 per share from $647, saying Microsoft is taking a "surprisingly measured approach" to building capacity given demand signals and its ability to pivot facilities to meet demand.

Bernstein wrote: "Simply stated Microsoft is not building too fast, but rather taking a surprisingly measured approach given the demand signals they are receiving and their ability to easily pivot facilities to meet demand,” per CNBC.

Read Next

AI Capex Surges to New HeightsThis disciplined approach comes amid a broader surge in AI-related capital expenditures. U.S. hyperscalers are projected to spend about $916 billion on AI capex over the next year, with expectations to reach nearly $1.2 trillion the following year. This spending spree is set to account for approximately 3.1% of U.S. GDP by 2027, tripling the investment levels seen during the 1990s telecom boom.

Concerns Over AI Investment StrategyHowever, not everyone views this spending positively. In a Friday note, Aswath Damodaran expressed concerns that Microsoft, along with Amazon, Meta, and Google, is “collectively overinvesting” in AI.

Damodaran, known as the “Dean of Valuation,” argues that these tech giants are betting on AI without a clear business model, likening their approach more to gambling than investing.

Technical Analysis

Microsoft is on a 3-day winning streak, adding about $67.42 billion in market cap over approximately three sessions. The stock is significantly outperforming the S&P 500 with a 1-month gain of 32.19% compared to the SPY’s 2.46% rise. Additionally, Microsoft’s RSI(14) stands at 79.67, indicating overbought conditions.

Read Next

Image: Shutterstock

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Microsoft MSFT shares rose 1.7% on Monday after a report said the software giant is preparing to unveil its next-generation Maia 300 artificial intelligence chip this fall, marking another step in its effort to reduce dependence on Nvidia's processors as competition in custom AI silicon intensifies.

According to The Information, citing people familiar with the matter, Microsoft could introduce the Maia 300 as early as next month.

Separately, Bernstein SocGen Group also raised its price target on Microsoft shares to $660 from $647 while maintaining an Outperform rating, expressing confidence in the company's long-term AI infrastructure strategy.

Nvidia shares were down about 1.8% during Monday's session.

The broader S&P 500 was down by almost 0.1%.

Microsoft has been investing heavily in proprietary AI chips as hyperscale cloud providers increasingly seek greater control over the hardware powering artificial intelligence applications.

The company first introduced the Azure Maia AI Accelerator in November 2023 alongside its Cobalt central processing unit.

Earlier this year, it unveiled the Maia 200, manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. using its advanced 3-nanometer process.

The Maia 200 featured a large amount of SRAM, a high-speed memory technology designed to improve AI inference by enabling faster processing of user requests.

The upcoming Maia 300 represents Microsoft's next step in expanding its custom silicon portfolio.

According to The Information, Microsoft is negotiating with TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 Maia 300 chips for delivery in 2027.

The report added that Microsoft ultimately hopes to secure production capacity exceeding one million Maia 300 units, although supply constraints and negotiations with TSMC could affect those plans.

The company is also reportedly attempting to convince major cloud customers, including Anthropic, to deploy the chips on Microsoft's Azure platform.

Microsoft's efforts mirror a broader trend across the technology sector, where cloud providers are increasingly developing in-house processors to reduce reliance on Nvidia's high-priced graphics processing units.

Alphabet recently began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its Tensor Processing Units, while Amazon has continued expanding adoption of its Trainium processors.

Last month, The Information reported that Alphabet is designing another custom AI server processor, internally known as "Frozen v2," expected to launch in 2028.

According to the report, the chip could be six to ten times more power-efficient than Google's existing AI processors when measured by tokens generated per unit of electricity.

Greater efficiency has become a strategic priority for AI companies seeking to lower infrastructure costs while addressing persistent shortages in advanced computing capacity.

Bernstein said concerns about Microsoft's data center spending appear overstated.

The brokerage noted that Microsoft has expanded data center capacity more slowly than cloud revenue growth while spreading future lease obligations across multiple years.

According to Bernstein, Microsoft's purchase commitments for power, cooling infrastructure and hardware are concentrated over the next twelve months, with relatively limited obligations beyond that period.

The research firm argued that even if AI demand weakened unexpectedly, additional capacity could still support Microsoft's traditional CPU-based cloud business.

Bernstein described Microsoft's expansion strategy as measured and aligned with current customer demand, while acknowledging that hardware costs have increased despite improving equipment availability.

Long-term goal remains vertically integrated AI infrastructureMicrosoft has repeatedly stated that designing proprietary chips is central to its long-term AI strategy.

Speaking last year, Microsoft's chief technology officer Kevin Scott said the company ultimately intends to rely primarily on internally designed processors across its data centers.

"Absolutely," Scott said when asked whether Microsoft's long-term objective was to use mostly proprietary chips.

He added that Microsoft is already deploying "lots of Microsoft" silicon across its infrastructure.

Scott emphasized that the strategy extends beyond processor design.

"It's about the entire system design. It's the networks and the cooling, and you want to be able to have the freedom to make the decisions that you need to make in order to really optimize your compute to the workload," he said.

As generative AI becomes increasingly central to cloud computing, ownership of the underlying hardware has emerged as a key competitive differentiator.

10.8.2026 15:45, MSFT, AAPL, VRTX, BRK.A, BRK B, TTD, META, FERG, B, SPCX, HONA

Index Dow Jones -0,09 % na 53989,08 b., S&P 500 -0,06 % na 7752,89 b., Nasdaq Composite -0,24 % na 26627,37 b.

Americké akcie vstupují do nového týdne poklesem, když všechny hlavní indexy odepisují. Výsledková sezóna nadále pokračuje, její tempo však zpomaluje.

Z titulů tzv. MAG 7 odepisuje Apple 2,0 % poté, co Jefferies snížila doporučení na „underperform“, přičemž analytici upozorňují na obtížnou cestu k uvedení dražšího iPhonu. Naopak Meta Platforms roste 0,4 % po představení nového AI modelu Muse Glimmer, který lze provozovat na jednom počítači a uživatelé si jej mohou stáhnout a dále upravovat. Microsoft (+1,2 %) plánuje v příštím roce výrazně navýšit výrobu vlastních AI čipů. Podle The Information jedná s TSMC o zajištění kapacit pro více než 300 tis. čipů Maia 300 s dodáním v roce 2027.

Berkshire Hathaway (+2,8 %) ve 2Q více než zdvojnásobila čistý zisk na 25,67 mld. USD, zatímco provozní zisk vzrostl o 16 % na 12,98 mld. USD. Společnost zároveň odkoupila vlastní akcie za přibližně 4,5 mld. USD a poprvé po více než třech letech během čtvrtletí více akcií nakoupila, než prodala. Akcie SpaceX oslabují o 0,3 % a pohybují se okolo své IPO ceny 135 USD. Výrazněji oslabuje těžební společnost Barrick Mining (-9,0 %) po dohodě s Newmontem ohledně Nevada Gold Mines, u níž analytici upozorňují na nižší než očekávané ocenění aktiv Barricku.

Společnost Barrick Mining zveřejnila své kvartální výsledky, kdy ve 2Q vykázala očištěný zisk na akcii 0,82 USD, v souladu s očekáváním trhu. Tržby dosáhly 5,29 mld. USD a překonaly analytický konsenzus 5,15 mld. USD. Očištěný zisk EBITDA dosáhl 3,63 mld. USD oproti očekávaným 3,5 mld. USD, zatímco volné peněžní toky ve výši 515 mil. USD zaostaly za odhady Wall Street 966 mil. USD. Produkce zlata činila 796 tis. uncí a překonala očekávání 763 tis. uncí. Společnost ponechala celoroční výhled produkce zlata i mědi beze změny a očekává kapitálové výdaje v rozmezí 3,8 až 4,2 mld. USD.

Společnost Ferguson (+2,6 %) ve 2Q vykázala tržby 8,75 mld. USD, z čehož 8,34 mld. USD připadalo na americký trh. Očištěný provozní zisk dosáhl 932 mil. USD a očištěný zisk EBITDA 994 mil. USD, zatímco provozní zisk činil 893 mil. USD. Management zároveň zlepšil celoroční výhled růstu tržeb na střední jednociferné tempo z předchozího nízkého až středního jednociferného růstu. Zároveň zvýšil spodní hranici očekávané upravené provozní marže na 9,5 %, přičemž horní hranici ponechal na 9,8 %. Výhled kapitálových výdajů byl posunut na 375 až 425 mil. USD z předchozích 300 až 400 mil. USD.

Intel (-4,4 %) plánuje veřejnou nabídku akcií v objemu 15 mld. USD, čímž podle Bloombergu využívá obnoveného zájmu investorů o svůj byznys v souvislosti s boomem datových center a AI infrastruktury. BMO Capital snížila cílovou cenu z 276 na 209 USD pro akcie Honeywell Aerospace (-4,9 %), investiční doporučení bylo ponecháno na stupni „Outperform“.

Akcie Vertex Pharmaceuticals posilují (+7,0 %) poté, co výsledky studie konkurenční společnosti Sionna Therapeutics u přípravku SION-719 zaostaly za očekáváním. Výsledek oslabil vyhlídky Sionny jako potenciálního konkurenta Vertexu v léčbě cystické fibrózy.

Analytici z Morgan Stanley a HSBC snížili společnosti The Trade Desk cílovou cenu. Akcie The Trade Desk odepisují 6,0 %.

Index S&P 500 -0,06 % na 7752,89 b. Nejsilnější sektory S&P Změna Nejslabší sektory S&P Změna Energie +2,5 % Reality -1,1 % Zdravotní péče +0,7 % Utility -0,9 % Finanční sektor +0,5 % Nezbytná spotřeba -0,6 % Nejsilnější akcie S&P Změna Nejslabší akcie S&P Změna Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +7,0 % Coherent Corp (COHR) -8,1 % APA Corp (APA) +4,0 % Trade Desk (TTD) -6,0 % Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY) +4,0 % Lumentum Holdings (LITE) -5,4 % NetApp (NTAP) +3,9 % Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) -4,9 % Super Micro Computer (SMCI) +3,6 % Intel Corp (INTC) -4,9 %
Zdroj: Bloomberg

Marek Krejčiřík
Fio banka, a.s.
Prohlášení

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 90.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,611 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 88,088 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $199,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Microsoft News 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. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Phillip Securities cut Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Dbs Bank reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price target 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.87.

View Our Latest Report on MSFT

Insider Activity In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance MSFT stock opened at $499.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $404.86 and a 200-day moving average of $406.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. 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%.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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).

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Albemarle’s Blowout Quarter Shows Why Lithium Still Matters Can DICK’S Turn Foot Locker Into a Winner? Why Dutch Bros Plunged Despite a Q2 Earnings Beat and Record Revenue Take-Two’s Q1 Results Leave GTA 6 Bulls Stuck in the Fog of War

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

HomeIndustriesIf SpaceX provides the compute capacity, Microsoft could monetize it.Aug. 10, 2026, 5:26 a.m. ET

Elon Musk made some very big predictions and threw around some very big numbers during the SpaceX earnings call last week. SemiAnalysis, a research boutique, says, "We believe that number is real." Photo: Getty ImagesElon Musk’s first earnings call for SpaceX as a public company was notable for its grand ambitions. Using the word “conservatively,” he outlined a plan for SpaceX to expand its current AI compute capacity of around 1.4 gigawatts by something like 6 to 8 gigawatts next year, with the possibility of exceeding 10GW. 

One potential consequence of this could see Microsoft MSFT, currently facing an enormous compute gap this year and next as it tries to service OpenAI’s frontier models, becoming the primary off-taker of SpaceX SPCX compute capacity.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 9th, 2026

AR Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 35.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,098 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 8,699 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.4% of AR Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. AR Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Dbs Bank decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, China Renaissance lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft

Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company’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. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0% Shares of MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $404.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $406.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 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 given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary 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. Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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).

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Quantum Earnings Week: Winners and Losers Are Finally Emerging Axon’s Post-Earnings Pullback May Be More About Valuation Than Growth Uber Stock Lags in 2026, But Cash Flow and AV Bets Fuel Upside AppLovin Stock Hits 52-Week Low as Analysts Trim Targets, Stay Bullish Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINEGuidewire Software, Inc. $GWRE Stake Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

NEXT HEADLINE »California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stock Position in Alignment Healthcare, Inc. $ALHC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 9th, 2026

Arvest Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 29.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,151 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,497 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.2% of Arvest Bank Trust Division’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Arvest Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary 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. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. CLSA restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.87.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft Price Performance NASDAQ MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $404.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $406.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

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).

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Quantum Earnings Week: Winners and Losers Are Finally Emerging Axon’s Post-Earnings Pullback May Be More About Valuation Than Growth Uber Stock Lags in 2026, But Cash Flow and AV Bets Fuel Upside AppLovin Stock Hits 52-Week Low as Analysts Trim Targets, Stay Bullish

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINEAscension Capital Advisors Inc. Has $3.54 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

NEXT HEADLINE »Alamar Capital Management LLC Invests $591,000 in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 9th, 2026

Barbara Oil Co. grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,220 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.3% of Barbara Oil Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Barbara Oil Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Microsoft by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of MSFT stock opened at $499.99 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $404.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend 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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. HSBC lowered their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-two 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, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Key Microsoft News 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. Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

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).

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Microsoft Quantum Earnings Week: Winners and Losers Are Finally Emerging Axon’s Post-Earnings Pullback May Be More About Valuation Than Growth Uber Stock Lags in 2026, But Cash Flow and AV Bets Fuel Upside AppLovin Stock Hits 52-Week Low as Analysts Trim Targets, Stay Bullish

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

« PREVIOUS HEADLINEAltshuler Shaham Ltd Purchases 627,510 Shares of NVIDIA Corporation $NVDA

NEXT HEADLINE »Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd’s 2nd Largest Position