Cat Rock Capital Management LP Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Cat Rock Capital Management LP decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,423 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 22,982 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 14.4% of Cat Rock Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Cat Rock Capital Management LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $116,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 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: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft’s Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $395.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $427.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $476.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. 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 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given 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 (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

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).