Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 237,516 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,174 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.1% of Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $123,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second 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 purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $409.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $433.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $478.72. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought 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 owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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 Company 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).