James Investment Research Inc. Sells 1,424 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

James Investment Research Inc. cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,144 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,424 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.9% of James Investment Research Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $385.10 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $402.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.84.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus lowered its price target on Microsoft but kept a buy rating, still implying roughly 32% upside from current levels. Benzinga / The Fly report on Argus price target cut
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to Microsoft’s AI and Azure buildout as a long-term driver, with one piece arguing that AI data centers are effectively “pre-sold,” suggesting strong demand for Microsoft’s infrastructure spending. Article on AI spending returns
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings showed the company beat expectations on both revenue and EPS, reinforcing that the core business remains healthy despite the stock’s weak price action.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Xbox/gaming unit is facing restructuring under Asha Sharma, including layoffs and tough decisions about studio strategy, which adds uncertainty but could improve efficiency over time. FT article on Xbox changes
• Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve named Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to a jobs-and-productivity task force, keeping Microsoft in the policy conversation around AI and labor, but with no immediate financial impact. Yahoo Finance report on Fed task force
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued notices about a securities fraud class action tied to alleged AI/Copilot misrepresentations, increasing headline risk and investor caution. PR Newswire lawsuit notice
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Starbucks is building internal AI to replace some Microsoft software underscore a broader threat: customers may use AI to reduce reliance on Microsoft’s enterprise products, which could pressure future software revenue. MarketBeat Starbucks AI cost-cutting article
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s AI expansion is also drawing criticism over rising emissions and heavy capital spending, feeding worries that the company is paying more for growth while investors question the payback period. TechXplore emissions report

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).