Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Sells 4,549 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 314,879 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,549 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.2% of Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $163,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 31,662 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,399,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 68,309 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,381,000 after buying an additional 4,753 shares during the last quarter. OxenFree Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. OxenFree Capital LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,380,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.6% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 71,223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Breakthru Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $2,969,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $487.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $498.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $503.42. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush’s Dan Ives reiterates an Outperform view and calls MSFT a “compelling” buy for 2026, setting a $625 price target and forecasting nearly 30% upside — a strong buy-side catalyst. This Dividend‑Yielding Tech Stock Looks a ‘Compelling Buy’ for 2026 After 2 Years of Underperformance
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore and other firms have named Microsoft a top software pick for 2026; broad analyst bullishness (many high price targets and “Overweight/Outperform” ratings) underpins upside expectations tied to Azure and AI. Microsoft, Salesforce Lead Evercore’s 2026 Picks
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI — backed by Microsoft — is reportedly closer to showing ads in ChatGPT; this could create a new monetization path (positive long term) but also raises questions about product positioning and partnership dynamics. OpenAI Is Getting Closer to Showing Ads on ChatGPT
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and data‑driven commentary highlights strong AI/Azure growth (Azure >30% YoY cited) as the bull case, while also flagging very large FY capex (~$80B) that could pressure margins if AI monetization lags. Mixed signals for investors. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on AI and Cloud Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketbeat’s write‑up notes MSFT’s durable enterprise moat (Office/Azure switching costs) but calls valuation rich to some investors and highlights a consolidation around key technical levels — a mixed but stabilizing narrative. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple senior executives sold shares in the past six months); that activity can weigh on sentiment even if sales are routine portfolio moves. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on AI and Cloud Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest and bearish flows have been cited as a drag on the shares in recent weeks; elevated short interest increases downside volatility around any disappointing AI/earnings headlines. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away
• Negative Sentiment: Policy/hiring risk: the Trump administration’s overhaul of H‑1B allocation (prioritizing higher‑paid/skilled registrants) and prior new visa fees could raise hiring costs or complicate talent access for large cloud/AI employers like Microsoft. Trump administration moves to overhaul how H‑1B visas are granted, ending lottery system

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Rothschild Redb cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Melius Research boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft 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).