Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,140 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,983 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.0% of Vanderbilt University’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $500.00 target price (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.37.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out a “community‑first” plan for U.S. AI data centers, pledging to pay for grid upgrades, replenish water use, and work with local communities — a move that should ease political and permitting risk and support continued Azure/AI capacity expansion. Microsoft Unveils “Community-First” Plan for U.S. AI Data Center Buildout
• Positive Sentiment: Wikipedia announced AI licensing deals that include Microsoft, formalizing access to curated content for training models — this reduces content‑access uncertainty and supports product quality for Copilot/Foundry offerings. Wikipedia owner signs on Microsoft, Meta in AI content training deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft agreed to buy a record 2.85M soil carbon credits to offset rising emissions from its data centers — good for ESG positioning but represents a recurring program cost to support AI growth. Microsoft in record deal for soil carbon credits as data centres surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Jan. 28 (fiscal Q2 results) and company AI updates — a potential volatility catalyst that could reset sentiment either way depending on AI revenue/margin cues. Why Jan. 28 Could Be a Very Big Day for Microsoft Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Switzerland’s competition authority opened a preliminary probe into Microsoft’s licensing fees for Microsoft 365 after complaints of steep price hikes — potential regulatory/legal headwind to pricing power and enterprise contracts in Europe. Swiss competition authority opens probe into Microsoft licensing fees
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft may spend ~ $500M/year with Anthropic to integrate Claude models into Microsoft products — meaningful incremental operating expense that could pressure near‑term margins even as it diversifies AI supply. Is Microsoft’s $500 Million AI Pivot to Anthropic an Admission of Failure?
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market/technical pressure: analysts and headlines note MSFT has hit multi‑month lows and is facing selling pressure as the AI trade cools and duration/interest‑rate concerns linger. That sentiment is amplifying reactions to the above cost and regulatory items. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Hits Six-Month Low as AI Trade Loses Steam

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $459.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $485.51 and a 200 day moving average of $503.16. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

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).