Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Eagle Global Advisors LLC

Eagle Global Advisors LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 163,691 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,227 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.2% of Eagle Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Eagle Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $84,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Applied Capital LLC FL lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 12,604 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,528,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 6,602 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,420,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Forbes Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.8% in the third quarter. Forbes Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,960 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,235 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 11,373 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,891,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (down previously from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 price target (down previously from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.95.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $401.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $496.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and notes highlighting Microsoft’s relatively durable free cash flow versus other hyperscalers are soothing investors worried about AI capex. Why Microsoft’s Cash Flow Sets It Apart from Other Hyperscalers
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s large, funded partner programs (notably the multibillion‑dollar IREN deal) are progressing — IREN secured financing and management says Microsoft prepayments/backing reduce execution risk for deploying AI capacity. That validates Microsoft’s ability to source external infrastructure without bearing all capex. IREN Earnings Were Ugly—Is a Beautiful Future Already Funded?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional flows show some buyers stepping in (reported stake increases by managers), suggesting bargain hunting after the pullback. Manning & Napier Advisors boosts Microsoft stake
• Positive Sentiment: Government partnerships (UK deepfake detection) reinforce Microsoft’s regulatory/trust positioning for AI tools — a reputational plus that can support enterprise adoption. Britain to work with Microsoft to build deepfake detection system
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader hyperscaler capex is surging (reports of ~$700B combined spending), a structural trend that supports long‑term AI revenue but puts near‑term pressure on free cash flow across the group. Tech AI spending may approach $700 billion this year, but the blow to cash raises red flags
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure market evolution (bitcoin miners pivoting to lease power to AI customers) creates more supplier options for Microsoft to scale capacity without owning all sites — strategic but execution‑dependent. The Great Pivot: Bitcoin Miners Are Becoming AI’s Landlords
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel’s rare downgrade (Hold) and analyst concern about Google/Anthropic competition for Azure weighed on sentiment earlier this week and triggered part of the sell‑off. Microsoft Stock Gets a Rare Downgrade. AI Competition Is Heating Up for Azure.
• Negative Sentiment: Specific execution worries — slower Copilot adoption and signs of softer Azure acceleration in the quarter — remain key risk points investors are watching; these were central to the post‑earnings sell‑off. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Should You Buy After 22% Plunge?
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/market psychology: an AI‑led rotation has erased large amounts of Big Tech market value, amplifying volatility for Microsoft even when fundamentals look mixed. Big Tech sees over $1 trillion wiped from stocks as fears of AI bubble ignite sell-off

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).