Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Kathleen Hogan Sells 12,321 Shares of Stock

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Kathleen Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $409.41 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. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $433.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $478.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 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 analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched Copilot Cowork (AI agents powered by Anthropic’s Claude), reinforcing its enterprise AI roadmap and positioning Copilot as a platform to drive Azure consumption and seat-based revenue. Microsoft taps Anthropic for Copilot Cowork in push for AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out an enterprise AI bundle and a higher-priced M365 tier (E7 / $99/user per month) that could accelerate Copilot adoption, lift average revenue per user, and create predictable recurring revenue. Microsoft Unveils AI-Centric $99-Per-User Software Bundle
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is publicly keeping Anthropic-powered products available to many customers despite the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation of Anthropic — a move that preserves Microsoft’s access to Claude (and associated Azure consumption) but also keeps the company exposed to geopolitical/regulatory headlines. Microsoft Positioned to Win AI Race With Dual-Model Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are debating valuation after the stock’s pullback; some see the drop as a buying opportunity while others highlight slower Copilot adoption as a near-term headwind — this drives mixed analyst commentary that can amplify intraday moves. Should You Buy Microsoft At $400?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market rumors (e.g., around Xbox) have prompted “rumor control” headlines; these are short-lived but can create volatility in sentiment-driven trading sessions. “Blank Check” For Xbox? Microsoft Stock Dips as Rumor Control Sets In
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale: EVP Kathleen Hogan disclosed a multi-million-dollar sale of MSFT shares (12,321 shares), which investors often view as a modest negative signal on near-term insider conviction. SEC Form 4 — Kathleen T. Hogan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and safety risk: a lawsuit alleging inadequate AI safety around Microsoft/OpenAI products and Anthropic’s legal fight with the Pentagon keep regulatory and litigation risk on investors’ radars, potentially increasing compliance costs or leading to restrictions. Anthropic sues to block Pentagon blacklisting

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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).