Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,629 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,844 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.5% of Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $114,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched Copilot Cowork (AI agents powered by Anthropic’s Claude), reinforcing its enterprise AI roadmap and positioning Copilot as a platform to drive Azure consumption and seat-based revenue. Microsoft taps Anthropic for Copilot Cowork in push for AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out an enterprise AI bundle and a higher-priced M365 tier (E7 / $99/user per month) that could accelerate Copilot adoption, lift average revenue per user, and create predictable recurring revenue. Microsoft Unveils AI-Centric $99-Per-User Software Bundle
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is publicly keeping Anthropic-powered products available to many customers despite the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation of Anthropic — a move that preserves Microsoft’s access to Claude (and associated Azure consumption) but also keeps the company exposed to geopolitical/regulatory headlines. Microsoft Positioned to Win AI Race With Dual-Model Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are debating valuation after the stock’s pullback; some see the drop as a buying opportunity while others highlight slower Copilot adoption as a near-term headwind — this drives mixed analyst commentary that can amplify intraday moves. Should You Buy Microsoft At $400?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market rumors (e.g., around Xbox) have prompted “rumor control” headlines; these are short-lived but can create volatility in sentiment-driven trading sessions. “Blank Check” For Xbox? Microsoft Stock Dips as Rumor Control Sets In
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale: EVP Kathleen Hogan disclosed a multi-million-dollar sale of MSFT shares (12,321 shares), which investors often view as a modest negative signal on near-term insider conviction. SEC Form 4 — Kathleen T. Hogan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and safety risk: a lawsuit alleging inadequate AI safety around Microsoft/OpenAI products and Anthropic’s legal fight with the Pentagon keep regulatory and litigation risk on investors’ radars, potentially increasing compliance costs or leading to restrictions. Anthropic sues to block Pentagon blacklisting

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $409.41 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $433.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $478.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).