Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Trimmed by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,568,311 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 122,753 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.5% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,366,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft’s Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $395.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $427.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.81.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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).