Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Channing Global Advisors LLC

Channing Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 30.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,004 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,725 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.5% of Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its position in Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $3,262,509,000 after buying an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Microsoft by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,384 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $381.70 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $398.21 and its 200 day moving average is $408.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.40.

Key Stories 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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).