Ninety One North America Inc. Sells 1,459 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Ninety One North America Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 273,804 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,459 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.6% of Ninety One North America Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $141,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, 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 Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $456.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $502.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed a Buy on MSFT and kept a high $610 price target, signaling strong analyst conviction about upside from AI and cloud exposure — a line of support for the stock amid recent weakness. Microsoft receives a buy rating from Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Wikipedia signed licensing deals with Microsoft and other big tech firms — this expands Microsoft’s access to high-quality training data and reduces content friction for AI services, supporting Azure/Copilot product differentiation. Wikipedia signs AI licensing deals
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and industry write-ups emphasize Azure’s multi-model AI infrastructure and enterprise traction, reinforcing the revenue growth narrative that underpins Microsoft’s premium valuation. Will MSFT stock climb as Azure AI gains traction?
• Positive Sentiment: Surveys and analyst commentary (Morgan Stanley / CIO surveys) continue to highlight Microsoft’s leadership in generative AI and enterprise cloud, supporting longer-term upside expectations even as the stock cools. CIO survey highlights MSFT leadership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out a “community-first” plan for U.S. AI datacenter buildout — a strategic PR and regulatory move intended to ease local opposition and long-term buildout risk; it’s constructive but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft unveils community-first plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (fiscal Q2 results due Jan. 28) are a near-term catalyst — could amplify moves in either direction depending on Azure AI growth metrics and margin commentary. Why Jan. 28 could be big for investors
• Negative Sentiment: Switzerland’s competition authority opened a preliminary inquiry into Microsoft’s licensing fees after complaints about price hikes for Microsoft 365 — potential regulatory action could pressure product pricing and margins in Europe. Swiss probe into licensing fees
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft’s annual spend on Anthropic approaches ~$500M raise concerns about rising third‑party AI model costs and margin pressure for AI features (a strategic bet but one that increases operating expense). Anthropic spending nears $500M
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft agreed to a record purchase of soil carbon credits to offset data‑center emissions — a meaningful one‑time ESG cost and a sign of mounting operational expenses tied to AI growth (positive for ESG but a near-term cash outlay). Record soil carbon credit deal

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Microsoft from $700.00 to $665.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Rothschild Redb cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $630.37.

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).