Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Retirement Solution LLC

Retirement Solution LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,216 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,639 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.6% of Retirement Solution LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Retirement Solution LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $392.74 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $443.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $483.24.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at BNP and others say OpenAI’s large new funding round should still benefit Microsoft because of its deep Azure and infrastructure ties — a reminder that MSFT remains a key AI partner and infrastructure provider. OpenAI’s massive funding round should benefit Microsoft, Oracle: BNP
• Positive Sentiment: An insider (director Stanton John) bought roughly $2M of MSFT stock, signalling confidence from management-level insiders during the pullback. Director Stanton John Just Bought $2 Million of Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat / Altimetry note that Microsoft is “at the center of AI” with high switching costs and under-appreciated fundamentals — an argument that current valuation weakness is sentiment-driven and could reverse. AI Is Separating Software Winners From Losers, 2 Experts Explain
• Positive Sentiment: Dynamics 365 business applications continue to post solid mid-teens to high‑teens growth and are cited as a consistent driver of Productivity & Business Processes revenue — a durable growth stream beyond Azure. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its next quarterly dividend payable March 13 — a steady income signal but unlikely to move the stock materially amid the current narrative-driven trading. Microsoft to pay dividends on March 13; Here’s how much 100 MSFT shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to OpenAI’s announcement cut both ways: Microsoft wasn’t named among some of the latest funding/partner headlines, prompting investor worry about its standing with OpenAI and driving selling pressure. What’s Behind The Drop In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s authorities carried out a raid tied to suspected antitrust issues around Microsoft’s cloud business, raising regulatory risk in a major market. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, source says
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/real‑estate headwinds: reports of data center/building delays and related execution noise have been cited as a near-term drag on sentiment. “On Hold Until Further Notice”: Microsoft Stock Slumps With Building Delay
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-capex and semiconductor market jitters (Nvidia-centric weakness) are depressing the megacap tech complex; investors are weighing heavy industry capex against margins and balance-sheet strain. That macro pressure is spilling over to Microsoft. Nvidia Fails to Reassure—Heard on the Street

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

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).