Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Decreased by Davidson Investment Advisors

Davidson Investment Advisors reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 215,609 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,623 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.7% of Davidson Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $111,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted 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 valued at $45,040,162,000 after acquiring an additional 90,533,328 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Rothschild Redb lowered Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $630.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI reported it hit a >$20B revenue target in 2025 — a direct positive for Microsoft because higher OpenAI sales boost demand for Azure compute, licensing and co‑commercial opportunities with MSFT. Microsoft-Backed OpenAI Hits $20B Revenue Target in 2025
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI says 2026 will be a turning point for practical AI adoption — signals accelerating enterprise uptake of AI tools that feed Azure consumption and Microsoft’s AI product stack. OpenAI Says 2026 Will Be a Turning Point for Practical AI Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman and other firms have been bullish on MSFT’s AI/cloud leadership (Goldman’s coverage implies material upside), reinforcing investor confidence in MSFT’s growth trajectory tied to enterprise AI. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Seen with 37% Upside as Goldman Highlights AI and Cloud Leadership
• Positive Sentiment: Overall analyst sentiment remains strongly bullish despite some price‑target trimming and heavy AI investment — many analysts still see sizable upside, which supports buying interest. Strong Analyst Sentiment on Microsoft (MSFT) Despite Price Target Cuts and Heavy AI Spend
• Neutral Sentiment: MSFT is highlighted on several AI/cloud “top picks” and ETFs — useful for flows into the stock but a slower, less direct catalyst than OpenAI revenue. Top AI Stocks to Boost Returns and Reignite Portfolio Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational/ESG moves — large carbon removal purchases and initiatives to lower data‑center energy use support long‑term cost control and reputational upside but are not immediate revenue drivers. Microsoft Kicks Off 2026 With Flurry Of Large-Scale Carbon Removal Purchase Deals
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang: Elon Musk filed claims seeking up to $134B from OpenAI and Microsoft — creates headline risk and uncertainty even if chances of material payout are unclear. Elon Musk Claims OpenAI and Microsoft Gained $134 Billion From His Early AI Work
• Negative Sentiment: Negative investor commentary and skeptics (e.g., Michael Burry, critical pieces) warn that AI spending and valuation could be overheated — increases volatility and could pressure multiples if led by macro or earnings disappointment. ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry says the AI boom will end badly
• Negative Sentiment: Some critical analysis questions MSFT’s valuation and near‑term mix (see Seeking Alpha); combined with heavy AI spending, this fuels debate over margin/ROI timing. Microsoft: Something Doesn’t Add Up

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $459.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $483.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $502.46. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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).