Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lowered by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,417,273 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 301,000 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.8% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,587,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IRON Financial LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. PMG Family Office LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $423.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $398.43 and a 200 day moving average of $439.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price target (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit defeat for Elon Musk clears a major legal overhang and is seen as helping Microsoft’s AI ecosystem and partner exposure. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a new, large Microsoft stake, reinforcing the view that some major investors see MSFT as undervalued relative to its AI growth prospects. MSFT Stock Alert: What to Know as Bill Ackman Adds Microsoft Position
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted Microsoft as a beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption, with Azure and Copilot demand still driving the long-term growth story. Microsoft Rides on Enterprise AI Advancements: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several fund updates showed mixed institutional activity, including notable purchases and trims, which points to continued debate over Microsoft’s near-term valuation rather than a clear change in fundamentals. Pershing Square boosts Microsoft stake with 5.65M shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines flagged potential pressure points, including worries that GitHub AI competition is intensifying and that higher AI infrastructure spending could weigh on margins. Microsoft (MSFT) Faces GitHub AI Crisis as OpenAI’s Codex and Rivals Catch Up

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).