Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is James Hambro & Partners LLP’s 3rd Largest Position

James Hambro & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 406,888 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,148 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 7.5% of James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $210,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly bullish on MSFT — analysts and outlets label Microsoft a top pick for 2026 and a “strong buy,” citing AI monetization and cloud durability as drivers of upside. Wall Street Says Microsoft Is a ‘Strong Buy.’ Let’s Look at Who Owns MSFT Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts publicly prefer Microsoft over Google in the AI race, arguing MSFT’s Azure and partnerships reduce downside risk versus peers — a positive signal for longer‑term market share and revenue capture. Why This Analyst Prefers Microsoft Over Google In The AI Race
• Positive Sentiment: Debt and cash flow profile supports sustained AI investment — several writeups (including MarketBeat roundups) say MSFT’s balance sheet makes elevated CapEx manageable and that recent pullbacks are “buyable dips.” Beyond the Santa Claus Rally—5 Quality Stocks to Buy in 2026 (MSFT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis pieces (e.g., Seeking Alpha) argue raised CapEx for AI isn’t a major concern versus future ROI, positioning MSFT as still relatively cheap on an AI-adjusted basis — a mixed read that keeps volatility likely while fundamentals mature. Microsoft: AI Superpower Still Cheap – Raised Capex Not A Big Concern
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term selling pressure is coming from investors reassessing Microsoft’s AI edge versus Alphabet/Google — uncertainty over who will monetize AI faster is prompting profit‑taking and weighing on the stock. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Moves Lower As Investors Assess Its AI Edge Against Google
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market action is mixed — the Nasdaq was roughly flat while indexes rotated — and Microsoft’s size makes it a significant weight on the tech‑heavy index, magnifying any MSFT weakness for the session. How major US stock indexes fared Friday, 1/2/2026

Microsoft Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $472.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $493.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.68. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Microsoft from $682.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC raised their price target on Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.03.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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).