Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by 1248 Management LLC

1248 Management LLC decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,662 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 14,211 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.5% of 1248 Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. 1248 Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft’s Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $395.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $427.46 and a 200-day moving average of $476.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $641.00 price objective (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

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).