Swedbank AB increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,139,876 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 355,297 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.9% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.20% of Microsoft worth $5,604,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,750 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,941,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 48,842 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,080,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 376.0% during the first quarter. Investment Advisory Services Group LLC now owns 4,079 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after buying an additional 3,222 shares during the period. Fischer Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.3% during the first quarter. Fischer Financial Services Inc. now owns 38,539 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,267,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Finally, Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.4% in the first quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 674 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
- Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft’s Nadella rips Anthropic’s Fable restrictions in staff meeting: ‘Doesn’t make sense’
- Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
- Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of MSFT stock opened at $393.82 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13. 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 simple moving average is $400.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $410.77.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.
About Microsoft
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).
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