Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Cut by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,389,305 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 725,960 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.3% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,345,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9%

MSFT stock opened at $405.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $432.22 and a 200-day moving average of $478.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Copilot Cowork (Anthropic’s Claude) rollout strengthens Microsoft’s enterprise AI roadmap and should drive Azure cloud consumption and seat-based revenue growth. Microsoft taps Anthropic for Copilot Cowork in push for AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: New E7 $99/user Microsoft 365 bundle (Copilot + enterprise agents) could accelerate Copilot adoption, raise ARPU and create stickier recurring revenue. Microsoft adds higher-priced Office tier with Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Azure AI momentum and the company’s dual-model strategy (supporting both Anthropic and OpenAI models) sustain long-term cloud growth and give Microsoft optionality regardless of which models customers prefer. Microsoft Positioned to Win AI Race With Dual-Model Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 — provides income support and signals capital-return discipline. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft filed an amicus brief supporting Anthropic’s request to pause the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation — this preserves customer access to Claude (and Azure consumption) but keeps MSFT exposed to an evolving regulatory/geopolitical story. Microsoft files amicus brief in support of Anthropic’s lawsuit with US DOD
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst commentary: some see the YTD pullback as a buying opportunity while others point to slower near-term Copilot enterprise rollouts — expect headline-driven intraday swings. Should You Buy Microsoft At $400?
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s Pentagon dispute (supply‑chain designation and ensuing lawsuit) raises regulatory and policy risk that can spill into Microsoft given the partnership and federal contracting exposure. Anthropic sues to block Pentagon blacklisting
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment pressure: an EVP disclosed a multi‑million dollar sale (12,321 shares) and short interest rose in February — both can amplify downside in a thin-volume, news-driven session. SEC Form 4 — Kathleen T. Hogan sale

Microsoft 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).