Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,718,273 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 401,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 6.7% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.10% of Microsoft worth $3,964,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas says OpenAI’s updated spending plan still benefits big cloud suppliers, reinforcing Azure demand for Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. OpenAI’s New Spending Plan Is Still a Positive for Microsoft and Oracle, Says BNP Paribas
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs’ bullish take on Microsoft after Maia 200 (Microsoft’s AI accelerator) narrows performance gaps with competitors gives a growth narrative that can support multiple expansion or limit downside. Maia 200 Gives Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) a Boost With Goldman Sachs, But Nowhere Else
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party software and agents continue to land in Microsoft Marketplace (CrowdStrike Falcon, AI/R’s Llia, Reltio Azure certification), expanding Azure ecosystem monetization and ARR stickiness. Microsoft (MSFT) Positions for Long-Term AI and Enterprise Growth AI/R’s Intelligent AI Agent for Recruitment Operations Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace
• Positive Sentiment: Bridgewater’s estimate that big tech will invest roughly $650B in AI this year supports continued hyperscaler demand for cloud/datacenter capacity—structural tailwind for Azure. Big Tech to invest about $650 billion in AI in 2026, Bridgewater says
• Neutral Sentiment: Market technicals and insider activity are mixed: a senior director’s recent buy and oversold indicators (RSI, MACD) suggest the selloff may be nearing exhaustion, but that’s not a guarantee of an immediate rebound. Microsoft stock page (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex for AI/datacenters (66% surge noted by some analysts) is raising investor fears about the timing of returns and free‑cash‑flow pressure—even if Microsoft can fund spending internally. Is MSFT Stock Vulnerable to Rising CapEx Pressure From AI Spending?
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change at Xbox—Phil Spencer’s retirement and Asha Sharma’s promotion—spooked investors who see gaming as a near‑term revenue headwind and worry about execution during the transition. That news contributed to intraday weakness. Gaming Reinvents Itself Around Software and Subscriptions Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Departure of Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst churn: some downgrades and skeptical coverage (e.g., recent downgrade notes) add selling pressure during the broader tech pullback. Palantir Upgraded, Microsoft Downgraded: Updated Rankings on Top Blue-Chip Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks: OpenAI’s expanding partnerships (consultancies) and questions about the long‑term return on Microsoft’s ~\$13B OpenAI investment create uncertainty about exclusive advantages and future monetization. OpenAI partners with McKinsey, BCG, Accenture, and Capgemini to push its Frontier AI agent platform Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Tech Giant Locks 20% of OpenAI Revenue to 2032

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $384.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $450.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $486.83. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate 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, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 price target (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

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).