Dodge & Cox Has $4.08 Billion Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Dodge & Cox trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,872,161 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 270,099 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.2% of Dodge & Cox’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Dodge & Cox’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,077,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 5.9% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARK & TLK Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $395.55 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $427.46 and its 200-day moving average is $476.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Microsoft News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).