Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is SageGuard Financial Group LLC’s 7th Largest Position

SageGuard Financial Group LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 50,253 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,044 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.9% of SageGuard Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. SageGuard Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dupree Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 26.9% during the first quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 13,442 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,976,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Partners LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Walleye Partners LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $752,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96,546 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,739,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 16.7% in the first quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 26,892 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,955,000 after buying an additional 3,855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $383.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $404.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. President Capital upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Dbs Bank decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.98.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is shifting more Excel and Outlook AI prompts to its own MAI models instead of relying on OpenAI and Anthropic, a move that could reduce AI costs and improve long-term profitability. Microsoft joins AI cost-cutting trend by relying more on its own models
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentators argue Microsoft is trading at a rare discount after its recent pullback, suggesting some investors see the sell-off as a buying opportunity ahead of earnings later this month. Microsoft (MSFT) Is Trading at a Rare Discount. I See a Buying Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced it will report fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results on July 29, keeping attention on cloud growth, AI spending, and whether margin pressure is easing. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft continues to get positive attention from some market voices, including CNBC’s “Final Trades,” but this is more sentiment support than a direct fundamental catalyst. Nvidia, Microsoft, ServiceNow And More On CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s Xbox unit is facing a deep reset, including roughly 3,200 job cuts and studio divestitures, reinforcing concerns that parts of the business are struggling and that layoffs may not be done yet. Microsoft’s Xbox to Cut 3200 Jobs, Divest Five Studios in Major Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also dealing with multiple shareholder lawsuits and deadline reminders tied to alleged securities fraud and Copilot-related disclosures, which adds an overhang on sentiment. MSFT Investment Loss: Microsoft Investors that Lost Money after Copilot Functionality Issues Disclosed are Notified to Contact BFA Law about the Filed Securities Fraud Class Action

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).