ICONIQ Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 313.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 151,006 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 114,515 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.0% of ICONIQ Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. ICONIQ Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $78,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $399.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $426.00 and its 200 day moving average is $475.04. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, New Street Research upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a letter of intent to receive 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPU systems at Nscale’s new West Virginia “Monarch” AI campus — a clear signal Microsoft is securing large-scale external AI capacity to support customer demand and accelerate AI workloads. Nscale and Microsoft Announce Collaboration with NVIDIA and Caterpillar to Deliver 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs at Flagship AI Factory Campus in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia-backed Nscale acquired a 2,250-acre campus and plans up to 8GW of compute there — the scale of this buildout increases available AI capacity in which Microsoft can be a customer/partner, easing short-term Azure capacity constraints and supporting long-term cloud/AI revenue growth. Nvidia-Backed Nscale Plans Huge Data Center Cluster in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary and analysts continue to call Microsoft a long-term AI winner and a potential buying opportunity amid the pullback — bullish analyst notes can support near-term buying interest and reduce downside from headline-driven volatility. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition Microsoft Is ‘Long-Term Winner’ In AI Arms Race—Sell-Off Is Buying ‘Opportunity,’ Says Don Nesbitt
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft joined or backed anti-scam initiatives — good for reputation and user trust but limited direct near-term earnings impact. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition
• Neutral Sentiment: Big-tech carbon credit purchases are rising as AI capacity expands; Microsoft is a leader — this signals higher ESG spending and potential margin/headline impacts, but it also mitigates regulatory/PR risks. Big Tech purchases of carbon credits explode amid AI race, with Microsoft leading the way
• Negative Sentiment: Industry article flags nearly $700B of off‑balance-sheet data center leases led by Microsoft/peers — a reminder that massive AI infrastructure commitments carry financial and execution risk if revenue growth lags. Data Center Leases: Is Spending Mindful Of Revenues?
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and downgrade talk emphasize macro, competition and geopolitical/war-related risks to Microsoft’s outlook — such narratives can pressure sentiment and valuation multiples even if fundamentals remain strong. Microsoft: Macrohard, Competition, And War-Related Fears (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile investor selling (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund trimming Microsoft) can fuel short-term negative headlines and investor nervousness despite differing long-term views. Palantir Billionaire Peter Thiel Sells 3 AI Stocks in a $74 Million Warning to Wall Street.

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).