Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Clarius Group LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Posted by ABMN Staff on Dec 29th, 2025

Clarius Group LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 4.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 324,027 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 16,200 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 9.9% of Clarius Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $167,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 564,387.1% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $45,040,162,000 after purchasing an additional 90,533,328 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth about $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $487.71 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $497.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.86. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: High‑profile bullish analyst coverage and “breakout” 2026 thesis that support upside for MSFT and long‑term AI monetization. Why Analysts See 2026 as a Breakout Year for Microsoft Stock (MSFT)
Positive Sentiment: Firm bullish pieces arguing Microsoft is positioned for strong AI‑driven growth (OpenAI stake + Azure momentum), which supports a buy‑and‑hold case. Microsoft Positioned For Strong Growth
Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Microsoft’s entrenched enterprise moat and high switching costs — a defensive argument underpinning revenue durability and premium multiples. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away
Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion on “3 cloud stocks to buy” lists (alongside AMZN/GOOGL) reinforces Microsoft’s exposure to a potential cloud/AI cycle but is broad‑market, not MSFT‑specific. 3 Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy Before 2026 as Digital Demand Soars
Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — some analysts argue MSFT is a “compounder at any price,” others recommend accumulating slowly due to rich multiples and heavy capex; this is keeping some investors on the sidelines. Microsoft Faces a Key Question: Compounder at Any Price or Accumulate Slowly
Neutral Sentiment: Options “whale” activity shows large positioning in MSFT — could signal directional conviction but not definitive on sentiment. Monitor flows for confirmation. Check Out What Whales Are Doing With MSFT
Negative Sentiment: NVIDIA’s $20B Groq deal strengthens a competitor’s inference‑speed lead — a direct long‑term threat to Azure/AI hosting economics as inference demand grows; this likely weighs on MSFT sentiment today. NVIDIA’s $20B Groq Deal Is a Warning Shot to AI Rivals (MSFT)
Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns about Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI and Copilot adoption (reports that drove a recent pullback) are pressuring sentiment — execution and partner dynamics are key near‑term risks. Microsoft (MSFT) Fell Due to Concerns About Its Relationship With OpenAI
Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting the stock looks “pricey” and that heavy data‑center capex could pressure margins/returns in the near term — a valuation headwind for momentum investors. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Melius Research lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Arete Research increased their target price on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.03.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Free Report)

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).