Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Trimmed by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,768 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,838 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.6% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew 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 purchasing an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Morgan Stanley, Bernstein, Truist, and CLSA remained constructive on Microsoft, with reports calling the stock deeply undervalued and setting price targets well above current levels. Microsoft has 3 secret weapons that could drive its stock 50% higher, analyst says
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI, adding another way to grow its cloud and AI ecosystem in Europe and regulated industries. Microsoft to fund Mistral’s European AI expansion in multibillion-dollar deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also deepened AI-related ties through new commitments to the DOE’s “Genesis Mission,” reinforcing its role in major public-sector AI infrastructure projects. Microsoft commits $60M to ‘Genesis Mission’ to help power Dept. of Energy’s AI-for-science push
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted record data-center demand led by hyperscalers including Microsoft, suggesting its AI infrastructure buildout remains robust despite the selloff. Sorry, AI Bears: Meta, Microsoft, and Google Lead Record Data Center Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s upcoming July 29 earnings report is the next major catalyst, with Wall Street focused on Azure growth, AI margins, and whether heavy capex is starting to bite.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted strong buy-the-dip interest from retail investors, but this is sentiment-driven rather than a direct business update.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is growing that Microsoft’s elevated AI spending is becoming an overhang, potentially pressuring near-term profitability and limiting upside. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Preview – Oppenheimer Says Demand Is Healthy, ‘But Elevated Capex Remains an Overhang’ on MSFT Stock
• Negative Sentiment: New securities-fraud class-action headlines tied to alleged AI/Copilot disclosure issues are adding another layer of uncertainty for Microsoft investors. MSFT Shareholder Alert: Microsoft Corporation Securities Class Action Lawsuit – Investors with Losses May Contact Levi & Korsinsky

Microsoft Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $399.57 and its 200-day moving average is $408.91. The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank upgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $556.37.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).