AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $730.86 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,411,750 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 13,430 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 8.7% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $730,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% in the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 285,163 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $147,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $397.23 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $452.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $488.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reiterated a Buy on Microsoft, highlighting continued Copilot adoption and strong Azure growth as reasons the company can outpace the recent sell-off. Microsoft in focus as Citi reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares (~$2M), a behavioral vote of confidence that can help stabilize sentiment among retail/institutional investors. Microsoft Director John Stanton Buys 5,000 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s extended OpenAI revenue arrangement (locking a meaningful share of OpenAI output through 2032) is a multi-year revenue and strategic moat tailwind for AI monetization. As Microsoft extends 20% OpenAI deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a large long-term commitment to expand AI access in the Global South (reported ~$50B), a growth opportunity that also implies heavy multi-year capex and execution risk. Microsoft to invest $50B in Global South AI push
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships and marketplace traction (e.g., CrowdStrike on Microsoft Marketplace) reinforce enterprise ecosystem stickiness but have limited immediate revenue impact. Falcon on Microsoft Marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change in gaming: Phil Spencer’s immediate retirement and replacement by Asha Sharma introduces near-term uncertainty for Xbox strategy and investor confidence in the gaming unit. Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer retires
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel downgraded MSFT (Buy→Hold) and cut its price target, citing Azure supply constraints as a near-term growth headwind — a concrete analyst call that can pressure flows and justify further volatility. Stifel flags Azure supply constraints
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh AI quality/security reports (Copilot/Office bug and “AI recommendation poisoning” threats) raise short-term adoption and reputational risk that could delay enterprise deployments and weigh on sentiment. AI recommendation poisoning concerns

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

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).