Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,776 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,551 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.5% of Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $48,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s $30B Series G (valuing the company at $380B) included investments tied to Microsoft, underscoring continued enterprise demand for AI and reinforcing MSFT’s strategic positioning in the AI ecosystem. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion as Enterprise AI Demand Explodes
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft deepened its sovereign‑cloud and AI push via a Capgemini alliance, boosting Microsoft’s government and regulated-industry reach—a revenue and sticky‑customer positive for Azure and commercial cloud. Microsoft Deepens Sovereign Cloud And AI Push With Capgemini Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat argues Azure migrations (legacy SQL and enterprise workloads) are a steady, high‑margin growth engine that cushions AI capex volatility—important context for long‑term revenue stability. Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft issued security fixes for actively exploited Windows/Office zero‑day vulnerabilities—operationally positive because it reduces enterprise risk and supports trust in its OS/Office franchises. Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysts note MSFT may be bottoming at channel support after the pullback, suggesting a possible short‑term rebound if volume and patterns confirm. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional activity is mixed—some funds have trimmed MSFT exposure while others added shares—indicating diverging views among large holders rather than a consensus directional shift. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple bullish commentaries and analyst upgrades argue the post‑earnings sell‑off creates a buying opportunity, which could support the stock if macro sentiment improves. Buy Microsoft’s Falling Price Despite An Overvalued Macroeconomy
• Negative Sentiment: Street reports highlight investor concern that heavy AI capex and cautious Azure guidance will pressure margins and free cash flow—this remains the primary near‑term driver of the sell‑off. Street Reassesses Microsoft (MSFT) Amid Azure Growth and Capex Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: FT coverage notes shifts in OpenAI relationships and leadership at Anthropic plotting “self‑sufficiency,” highlighting competitive and strategic friction in Microsoft’s AI partnerships—adds uncertainty to the OpenAI‑centric part of MSFT’s narrative. Mustafa Suleyman plots AI ‘self-sufficiency’ as Microsoft loosens OpenAI ties
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile criticism (e.g., Chamath) that Microsoft has underperformed other hyperscalers since the ChatGPT era adds negative sentiment pressure and can amplify short‑term selling. Microsoft Is ‘Worst-Performing’ Hyperscaler Stock Since ChatGPT Launch, Chamath Palihapitiya Says

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $401.82 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $462.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

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).