Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,512,321 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 20,079 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.3% of Rathbones Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,698,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $576.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI (backed by Microsoft) launched ChatGPT Images 2.0 — improvements to OpenAI’s image capabilities strengthen the product ecosystem that Microsoft leverages via its OpenAI partnership and Azure hosting, supporting longer-term AI revenue opportunities. OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Images 2.0 – Here’s What You Need to KnowArticle
• Positive Sentiment: Large enterprise deals deepen Azure and Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption — a five-year collaboration with Stellantis and industrial showcases at Hannover Messe (and Accenture partnerships) signal expanding, sticky enterprise AI workflows that drive cloud consumption and services revenue. Microsoft Deepens Industrial AI Role With Stellantis And Hannover Messe DealsArticle
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture’s agentic factory system debuts with Microsoft integrations — another indicator of enterprise traction for Azure-based AI platforms and professional services monetization. Accenture’s New Agentic Factory System Debuts With MicrosoftArticle
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor chatter and analysts expect a rebound into earnings: social-media buzz and many buy ratings highlight Azure growth and AI backlog optimism ahead of Microsoft’s April 29 report — but the stock has drawn intense debate about valuation and execution. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on Rebound Ahead of EarningsArticle
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox Game Pass price cut — the new Xbox leadership is trimming subscription prices to boost engagement; could lift user growth and retention but may compress near-term gaming revenue/margins. Microsoft cuts Game Pass subscription prices after new Xbox CEO promises to ‘recommit’ to gamersArticle
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup trimmed its MSFT price target from $635 to $600 but kept a buy rating — a reminder that analyst targets are being adjusted while consensus remains constructive (median targets still well above current levels). Finviz — Citigroup price target noteArticle
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. tribunal ruled Microsoft must face a £2.1B (~$2.8B) mass lawsuit alleging overcharging for Windows Server licenses on rival clouds — a sizeable litigation risk that could lead to material settlements and heightened regulatory/legal scrutiny. Microsoft must face $2.8 billion UK lawsuit over cloud computing licencesArticle
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis piece flags scrutiny of Microsoft’s AI investments and capital intensity — investors may worry about the pace, returns and governance of large AI capex and partnerships, which can pressure near-term margins and share performance. Microsoft AI Investments Face ScrutinyArticle

Microsoft Stock Up 1.5%

MSFT opened at $424.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $392.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.23. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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).