Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by XXEC Inc.

XXEC Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,476 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,891 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 8.2% of XXEC Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. XXEC Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 908.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 23,568,250 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,398,077,000 after purchasing an additional 21,231,333 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.34 on Tuesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $412.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Chevron announced a 20-year agreement to build Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt natural-gas-powered facility in West Texas to support Microsoft’s AI and cloud data centers, reinforcing long-term demand for Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. Reuters article on Chevron signs power supply deal with Microsoft for Texas data center
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella called for broader AI access, lower-cost models, and more emphasis on trust and choice, which supports the case that Microsoft is positioning itself to compete beyond the expensive frontier-model race. Yahoo Finance article on Microsoft CEO Calls for Broader AI Access
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft was cited as part of a broader Big Tech pullback tied to AI sector rotation and regulatory overhang, suggesting the stock is being dragged by the group rather than by company-specific operating news. Yahoo Finance article on US Equity Indexes Mixed Amid Steep Decline in Communication Services
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple investor-rights firms announced or promoted a securities class action against Microsoft related to alleged Copilot-related disclosures, adding headline risk but not yet changing the underlying business outlook. GlobeNewswire article on MSFT Alert
• Negative Sentiment: New class-action headlines around Microsoft’s Copilot issues and alleged investor harm may weigh on sentiment by increasing legal uncertainty and keeping attention on prior stock declines. PR Newswire article on MSFT Stockholder Alert

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

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).