Carnegie Investment Counsel Raises Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 428,997 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,848 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.0% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $156,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2,332.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,262,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after buying an additional 49,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 87,535 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,334,000 after buying an additional 2,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $381.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $398.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $407.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. CLSA began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last three months. Company 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 joined 25 tech companies in urging U.S. policymakers not to impose broad restrictions on open-weight and open-source AI models, a stance that supports its broader AI ecosystem strategy and could help preserve flexibility for future product development. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also backed a coalition letter with Nvidia, Meta, and other firms arguing that open-weight AI is important for U.S. leadership, reinforcing investor confidence that the company remains a major AI platform player rather than being boxed into one model provider. Business Insider article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded Databricks partnership extends a key cloud/data-AI relationship through the 2030s, which should help Azure adoption and strengthen long-term enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud services. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several previews ahead of Microsoft’s July 29 earnings report say the big investor focus will be FY2027 CapEx guidance and Azure growth, with analysts expecting strong results but worrying that AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margins. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued class-action alerts and deadline reminders tied to Microsoft securities-fraud claims, including allegations related to Copilot disclosures, which adds headline risk and may keep some investors cautious into earnings. GlobeNewswire article
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech weakness tied to AI spending fears also weighed on Microsoft, as investors sold mega-cap names after seeing massive capital outlays across the sector and questioning near-term returns on AI investment. Fox Business article

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).