Takeshi Numoto Sells 4,810 Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Takeshi Numoto also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 10th, Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.45, for a total value of $1,031,125.00.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $499.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $403.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.31. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI growth are the main catalysts. Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for fiscal 2026, while fourth-quarter cloud revenue increased 43%. Microsoft also exceeded quarterly revenue and earnings expectations, supporting optimism that AI demand is translating into recurring cloud and enterprise revenue. Microsoft Azure Fiscal 2026 Sales Exceed $100B
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint in India. The company opened its largest Indian data-center hub in Hyderabad and signed early customers including Adani Group and HDFC Bank. Microsoft has committed approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian operations, positioning Azure for growth in a large and rapidly developing market. Microsoft Opens Its Largest India Data Center Hub
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive. Analysts have raised price targets, including Tigress Financial’s $690 target, citing durable AI and cloud growth. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet, recurring software revenue and approximately $0.91 quarterly dividend also provide support for the long-term investment case. Tigress Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is a significant growth engine but also a concentration risk. Reports estimate that OpenAI may account for roughly 70% of Microsoft’s AI revenue. The relationship boosts near-term demand, but reliance on one partner could increase volatility if economics, technology preferences or customer concentration change. OpenAI May Account for 70 Percent of Microsoft AI Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and legal notices may temper sentiment. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares worth about $4.9 million, following EVP Takeshi Numoto’s sale of approximately $2.4 million. Multiple law firms are also promoting a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These items do not establish wrongdoing, but they can add near-term headline pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is increasing execution and margin risks. Large data-center commitments and infrastructure spending are necessary to support demand, but could pressure free cash flow and margins if capacity is built ahead of revenue or component shortages delay deployments. Microsoft’s valuation also leaves less room for disappointment after its sharp rally.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. China Renaissance cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $570.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Avise Financial Cooperative Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Avise Financial Cooperative Inc. now owns 3,743 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,626 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,472,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 85,761 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,991,000 after acquiring an additional 32,532 shares in the last quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 131,367 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $49,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Effects LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 17,183 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,410,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).