Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Reduced by Avala Global LP

Avala Global LP lowered its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 345,100 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 11,100 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 7.4% of Avala Global LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Avala Global LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $178,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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 directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $395.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $427.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $475.81. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft News Summary

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 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).