Avanza Fonder AB Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 518,138 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,052 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.4% of Avanza Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $250,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,740 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,194,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Aurdan Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Aurdan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,688 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,234,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 28,142 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,610,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,936 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,667,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keb Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 3,768 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, 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 acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $356.77 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $409.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.20. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lowered their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street analysts still see large upside for MSFT, arguing the pullback may be overdone and presenting a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. Wall Street Says Microsoft Stock Has 89% Rebound Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental revenue drivers remain: LinkedIn ad growth and marketing solutions are cited as near‑term revenue positives that help offset AI spending concerns. Microsoft Benefits From LinkedIn Ad Growth: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has implemented targeted hiring freezes in major cloud and North American sales groups while keeping AI and engineering hiring active — a cost‑management move that highlights prioritization of AI infrastructure but leaves uncertainty over near‑term sales execution. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups, The Information reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion continues: third‑party partner Crusoe announced a 900 MW AI campus in Abilene, Texas to support large‑scale workloads for Microsoft — this reinforces demand for hyperscale capacity even as investors debate ROI timing. Crusoe Announces New 900 MW AI Factory Campus in Abilene, Texas to Support Microsoft AI Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative has flipped: analysts and commentary say Microsoft is “losing the AI narrative,” and technical indicators show the stock at decade‑low oversold levels — fueling momentum selling. Microsoft’s stock hasn’t been this oversold in a decade, with the tech giant ‘really losing the AI narrative’
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI capex and execution concerns: multiple reports highlight Microsoft’s very large AI spending (reports cite ~$30B per quarter-level scale), slowing Copilot adoption vs. expectations, and the stock is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 — pressuring valuations and near‑term sentiment. Microsoft Is Down 24% This Year While Spending $30B a Quarter on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks are rising: OpenAI and other AI firms (including reports of Anthropic eyeing an IPO) are evolving relationships and competition that could reduce Microsoft’s exclusive leverage in parts of the AI stack. Anthropic eyes IPO, Microsoft stock set for worst quarter since 2008

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).