Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,973,157 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 348,059 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.5% of KBC Group NV’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,211,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Next Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the first quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 5,653 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 42,803 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687 shares during the last quarter. S&CO Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 190,197 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,405,000 after acquiring an additional 17,900 shares during the period. Finally, True North Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 38,683 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push
• Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction.
• Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $400.91 and its 200-day moving average is $405.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.64.

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).