Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Boosted by Xponance LLC

Xponance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,867,496 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,204 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.8% of Xponance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Xponance LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $903,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. HSBC reduced their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $390.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $410.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $429.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current 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 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.45, for a total transaction of $1,031,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,434,201.60. The trade was a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 19,262 shares of company stock valued at $8,695,581 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to win business tied to AI infrastructure, including a new 260 MW solar supply deal for its power needs, supporting long-term cloud growth. MN8 Energy Delivers 260 MW of Solar to Microsoft Across Two U.S. Power Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reinforcing shareholder returns and signaling financial strength. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on Microsoft’s AI strategy, with recent coverage calling MSFT a long-term buying opportunity as it expands Copilot and agentic AI. Microsoft Remains A Generational Buying Opportunity In The Agentic AI Era
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella’s comments about using the right AI model for the job suggest a push for efficiency, but also highlight Microsoft’s effort to control AI compute costs. Satya Nadella Warns Against AI Overuse
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s limits on Anthropic’s Claude usage point to tighter AI governance, but the direct financial impact appears limited for now. Microsoft limits employee use of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Xbox is preparing major layoffs and a reset add to concerns about cost pressure and slower growth in gaming. Microsoft’s Xbox plans for major layoffs next month
• Negative Sentiment: News that Microsoft is cutting jobs in its Azure unit in China is weighing on sentiment around near-term cloud execution and geopolitical risk. Microsoft lays off hundreds from Azure unit in China
• Negative Sentiment: Broader caution about the AI data-center buildout suggests investors are questioning how quickly Microsoft’s heavy AI spending will translate into profits. Wall Street’s $800 Billion AI Data Center Bet Is Showing Cracks

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).