Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Cut by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 73.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,725 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,245,225 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.9% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $220,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Microsoft by 908.5% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 23,568,250 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,398,077,000 after purchasing an additional 21,231,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $412.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.58. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.20.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New reporting suggests Microsoft is still benefiting from strong AI demand, including ByteDance spending more than $1 billion annually on Azure AI services and broader commentary that Azure growth and AI run-rate remain major drivers of investor interest. Microsoft Builds $1 Billion-Plus AI Business With ByteDance
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces argued Microsoft’s pullback may be creating a buying opportunity because the company still has strong cash flow, dividend growth, and discounted valuation relative to its AI prospects. Microsoft’s Boring Stock Story May Be Its Biggest Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also drew attention for product and ecosystem updates, including a possible PayPal integration for Xbox buy-now-pay-later checkout and new Teams features, but these are not likely near-term stock movers. Microsoft Sizes Up PayPal as Xbox Leak Exposes Buy Now Pay Later Plans
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or promoted securities class actions tied to Microsoft, alleging investors were harmed by misleading AI/Copilot-related statements during the May 2025 to January 2026 period. These legal headlines can weigh on sentiment. Portnoy Law Firm Announces Class Action on Behalf of Microsoft Corporation Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Another negative overhang is the claim that Copilot functionality issues contributed to a sharp stock drop, reinforcing investor concerns about execution risk and AI spending efficiency. Investor Rights Alert: Microsoft Faces Securities Fraud Class Action after Copilot Issues
• Negative Sentiment: There is also renewed concern that Microsoft’s gaming strategy is under pressure, with coverage pointing to the Steam Machine and broader cost-cutting in gaming as threats to growth in that segment. The Biggest Threat to Microsoft’s Gaming Ambitions is the Steam Machine

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).