Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Granite Investment Partners LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 139,809 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,597 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.2% of Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $51,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9%

MSFT stock opened at $390.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $399.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $408.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. CLSA assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price target for the company. Argus lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, President Capital lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $556.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Morgan Stanley, Bernstein, Truist, and CLSA remained constructive on Microsoft, with reports calling the stock deeply undervalued and setting price targets well above current levels. Microsoft has 3 secret weapons that could drive its stock 50% higher, analyst says
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI, adding another way to grow its cloud and AI ecosystem in Europe and regulated industries. Microsoft to fund Mistral’s European AI expansion in multibillion-dollar deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also deepened AI-related ties through new commitments to the DOE’s “Genesis Mission,” reinforcing its role in major public-sector AI infrastructure projects. Microsoft commits $60M to ‘Genesis Mission’ to help power Dept. of Energy’s AI-for-science push
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted record data-center demand led by hyperscalers including Microsoft, suggesting its AI infrastructure buildout remains robust despite the selloff. Sorry, AI Bears: Meta, Microsoft, and Google Lead Record Data Center Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s upcoming July 29 earnings report is the next major catalyst, with Wall Street focused on Azure growth, AI margins, and whether heavy capex is starting to bite.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted strong buy-the-dip interest from retail investors, but this is sentiment-driven rather than a direct business update.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is growing that Microsoft’s elevated AI spending is becoming an overhang, potentially pressuring near-term profitability and limiting upside. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Preview – Oppenheimer Says Demand Is Healthy, ‘But Elevated Capex Remains an Overhang’ on MSFT Stock
• Negative Sentiment: New securities-fraud class-action headlines tied to alleged AI/Copilot disclosure issues are adding another layer of uncertainty for Microsoft investors. MSFT Shareholder Alert: Microsoft Corporation Securities Class Action Lawsuit – Investors with Losses May Contact Levi & Korsinsky

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).