Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Canoe Financial LP

Canoe Financial LP decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 522,481 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 21,900 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.4% of Canoe Financial LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Canoe Financial LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $252,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $372.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $398.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.32.

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 firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reworked OpenAI relationship and strategic AI positioning that could accelerate MSFT’s cloud/AI roadmap — a Barron’s write-up frames the company as entering a new AI phase, supporting revenue and long-term growth expectations. Microsoft Is on a New AI Journey After Reworked OpenAI Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic ESG purchase: Microsoft agreed to buy 626,000 tonnes of BECCS carbon removal credits from a Meadow Lake Tribal Council–Svante project — helps corporate net-zero profile and reduces regulatory/PR risk on climate commitments. Svante & Meadow Lake Tribal Council Partnership Agrees to Sell Microsoft 626,000 Tonnes of Carbon Removal Credits
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation/long-term buy case: Several analysts and investors highlight MSFT as attractively priced after a sizable pullback — Seeking Alpha and other outlets argue the company’s double-digit growth and margins make it a buy on the dip. Microsoft: Double-Digit Growth At A Rare Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative AI positioning: Coverage comparing Oracle vs Microsoft as AI/cloud plays underscores MSFT’s strengths but also highlights competitive dynamics and execution trade-offs — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Oracle vs. Microsoft: Which Cloud Giant is the Better AI Play for 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector flow: MSFT features in bullish ETF/QQQ narratives — institutional buying and rotation into beaten-down tech names could support shares if macro volatility subsides. 5 Reasons the Invesco QQQ ETF Could Be Headed for a Triple-Digit Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Copilot safety/TOS headlines and security research have dented confidence — viral terms-of-service language and reports about AI-agent “trap” exploits targeting Copilot/M365 raise legal, reputational and product-risk questions. “For Entertainment Purposes Only”: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips as Copilot Warnings Emerge
• Negative Sentiment: Independent research (DeepMind framework) highlights potential ways AI agents can be weaponized, with examples noting M365 Copilot vulnerabilities — raises short-term security scrutiny and potential remediation costs. Deepmind’s ‘AI Agent Traps’ Paper Maps How Hackers Could Weaponize AI Agents Against Users
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/physical-risk headlines: Iran’s IRGC threats to large AI hubs (projects backed by Microsoft/OpenAI/NVIDIA) and investor pressure over data-center water/power use add geopolitical and ESG risk layers that could increase costs or slow builds. Iran’s IRGC Targets $30 Billion Stargate Project Backed by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia Investors press Amazon, Microsoft and Google on water, power use in US data centers

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

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).