Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $881.01 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,700,950 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,390 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.4% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $881,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

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

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Trending Headlines about 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).