CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,391,505 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,238,680,000. Microsoft accounts for 4.3% of CIBC Bancorp USA Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in 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 buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Product/partnership wins that support Azure and Copilot monetization—Microsoft announced integrations and partner expansions that help drive enterprise adoption of Copilot and Fabric, which support long-term revenue growth. What Microsoft (MSFT)’s Lumel-Fabric Integration Means For Shareholders
- Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a collaboration to embed “agentic” security and resilience into managed detection and response using Microsoft technology—this strengthens enterprise security demand for Azure and security services. Accenture Collaborates with Microsoft to Bring Agentic Security and Business Resilience to the Front Lines of Cyber Defense
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is consolidating its Copilot/AI teams and hiring small AI startups (e.g., Cove team) to accelerate product development—moves aimed at simplifying offerings and catching up on model capabilities. These steps support product focus and future monetization. Microsoft Unifies AI Division To End Copilot Confusion, Boost Growth
- Neutral Sentiment: Channel and partner activity continues (Expedience, Insentra, others joining Microsoft programs), which is constructive but incremental for top-line growth. Expedience Software Joins Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program to Deliver Copilot-Powered Proposal Automation in Microsoft Word
- Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary is mixed: some outlets pitch a buy-the-dip case while others highlight heavy capex and infrastructure costs—this fuels volatility but not an immediate fundamentals shock. Microsoft Stock Has Been Absolutely Slammed This Year. Is It Finally Time to Buy?
- Negative Sentiment: Potential legal conflict with Amazon/OpenAI: reports say Microsoft is weighing legal action over a reported Amazon–OpenAI cloud deal that could undermine Microsoft’s long-held OpenAI exclusivity—this is a major strategic risk to Azure AI differentiation and revenue. US agency asks companies to secure Microsoft tool after Stryker cyberattack
- Negative Sentiment: Security incidents and guidance: a recent medical‑device cyberattack tied to Microsoft endpoint tools prompted U.S. agencies to warn companies to harden those tools; separate reports flag SharePoint as an attack vector—these raise near‑term risk and potential remediation costs. US agency asks companies to secure Microsoft tool after Stryker cyberattack
- Negative Sentiment: Management & product headwinds: leadership reassignments and criticism about product competitiveness (Suleyman reassigned, debate over model quality) add execution uncertainty while investors fret over rising infrastructure costs driving margin pressure. “World-Class Models”: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Drops as Suleyman Reassigned
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the 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 approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade 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.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.87.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MSFT
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).
See Also
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