Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 765,947 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 18,609 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 9.4% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $396,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim set a $675.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. 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. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $630.11.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $478.11 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $488.91 and a 200 day moving average of $503.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.89%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst support remains intact — Jefferies reiterated a Buy on MSFT with a $675 target, and other firms (Wedbush, Scotiabank) continue positive stances, reinforcing a bullish long-term AI/cloud story. Microsoft’s (MSFT) AI Strategy Reinforces Its Position as a Long-Term Winner, Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: New commercial partnerships extend Copilot/Azure monetization paths — PayPal will power checkout in Copilot and Fiserv has an AI partnership to embed Microsoft tech, both help drive direct revenue/usage for Copilot and Azure. PayPal Teams With Microsoft to Power Checkout in Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum and enterprise demand remain strong — reporting around robust Azure demand, agentic AI tools for retail, and new robotics/automation partnerships that expand Azure’s TAM. These support revenue visibility and margin recovery as AI deployments scale. Microsoft Unleashes Agentic AI To Automate Every Corner Of Retail
• Neutral Sentiment: EU digital-rule update reportedly spares big tech from the strictest measures — less regulatory tightening would be neutral-to-positive for MSFT but it’s a policy development to monitor. Exclusive: Big Tech spared strict rules in EU digital rule overhaul, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target consensus points to sizable upside (~30% mean) and multiple firms flag MSFT as a top AI play — bullish medium-term context but not an immediate catalyst. Wall Street Analysts Predict a 30.32% Upside in Microsoft (MSFT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings and corporate cadence — Microsoft announced its quarterly earnings date; previews suggest continued double‑digit growth expectations, making the report a potential near-term catalyst. Microsoft announces quarterly-earnings release date
• Negative Sentiment: Layoff rumors and cost worries have circulated (reports of thousands of cuts); Microsoft publicly pushed back calling some figures “100 percent made up,” but the rumor flow can pressure sentiment and drive short-term selling. “100 Percent Made Up”: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips in Response to Layoff Rumors
• Negative Sentiment: Local opposition to a proposed data center in Michigan and broader community pushback could create PR/headwind risks and slow site builds — timing/permits matter for capacity expansion plans. Microsoft revealed as company behind controversial data center proposal in Michigan township
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure around OpenAI (lawsuit allowed to proceed to trial) is a reputational/legal risk given Microsoft’s close ties and investments in OpenAI. Elon Musk’s lawsuit accusing ChatGPT-maker OpenAI Of Betraying Its Nonprofit Mission Can Go To Trial, Judge Rules

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).