Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 72,416 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $37,508,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 7.0% of Permanent Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 564,387.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $45,040,162,000 after acquiring an additional 90,533,328 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Price Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.11.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Office 365 subscription growth is accelerating (commercial + consumer uptake, higher-tier migration and AI features boosting revenue per user), which supports recurring revenue and margin resilience. MSFT’s Office 365 Subscription Growth Picks Up
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched agentic AI solutions for retailers (automation across merchandising, store ops and fulfillment) — expands monetization avenues for Azure/Copilot in commerce. Microsoft Introduces Agentic AI Solutions for Retailers
- Positive Sentiment: PayPal will power Copilot Checkout flows, a partnership that helps drive payments volume inside Microsoft’s Copilot ecosystem and could lift monetization of consumer workflows. PayPal Teams With Microsoft to Power Checkout in Copilot
- Positive Sentiment: Prominent commentators and analysts remain constructive — Jim Cramer voiced continued confidence in Microsoft, and firms (Wedbush/Jefferies/Scotiabank coverage) reiterate upside tied to Azure/AI momentum. These endorsements support investor sentiment. Jim Cramer Says “Going Forward, I Still Feel Pretty Good About Microsoft”
- Neutral Sentiment: EU digital rule overhaul reportedly won’t impose heavy-handed restrictions on big tech — reduces a regulatory overhang but is broadly industry-wide news. Big Tech spared strict rules in EU digital rule overhaul
- Negative Sentiment: Reports say AI?capable PC sales came in below expectations, denting the near?term hardware/AI upgrade narrative that had been a tailwind for Microsoft’s Windows/partner ecosystem. “AI Confuses Them More Than it Helps…”: Microsoft Stock Slips as AI PC Sales Less Than Expected
- Negative Sentiment: Rumors of large job cuts circulated (company communications called the figures inaccurate), creating headline risk around rising AI costs and cost?base adjustments. Short-term volatility can follow such reports even when later denied. “100 Percent Made Up”: Microsoft Stock Slips in Response to Layoff Rumors
- Negative Sentiment: Local opposition emerged after Microsoft was identified as the developer behind a contentious Michigan data?center proposal — potential permitting delays and PR drag. Microsoft behind controversial data center proposal in Michigan
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).
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