Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 244,415 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,740,029 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 244,415 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 8.7% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $841,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $365.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $411.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $468.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore decreased their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterates conviction and sees roughly 30% upside for MSFT, reinforcing a bullish institutional view that supports longer-term buying interest. Bank of America Sees 30% Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and options traders are piling into MSFT call options, signaling speculative bullish positioning that can amplify rallies on positive headlines. Investors Piling into Microsoft Call Options
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic wins — Microsoft teaming with NVIDIA on AI-for-nuclear projects and continuing datacenter expansion (new Denmark region) underline durable demand for Azure and AI infrastructure, supporting long-term growth narrative. Microsoft–Nvidia Nuclear Push Sparks ETF Opportunity Microsoft Opens New Datacenter Region In Denmark
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal HR retooling and leadership departures (diversity chief exit) are drawing attention but are mainly organizational items; they create short-term uncertainty around execution rather than direct revenue risk. Microsoft HR Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft has frozen hiring in major cloud and North American sales groups — a signal of cost control and potential growth recalibration that spooks investors focused on Azure momentum. Microsoft Freezes Hiring in Major Cloud, Sales Groups
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism and product execution concerns: UBS and others cut price targets or warn that Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption is weaker than hoped — this is the core near-term catalyst dragging multiples lower. Price Target Lowered on M365, Copilot Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and narrative risk from OpenAI disclosures and media coverage of a prolonged pullback (MSFT down sharply from peak, nearing 52‑week low) are increasing investor caution and volatility. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’ MSFT Nears One-Year Low
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s broader market selloff — amplified by geopolitical (Iran) comments that pushed oil higher — is pressuring large-cap tech, contributing to MSFT’s decline independent of company fundamentals. Dow Jones Futures: Market Dives on Geopolitical Comments

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).