Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s Largest Position

Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 199.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 935,800 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 6.6% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $484,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 564,387.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $45,040,162,000 after purchasing an additional 90,533,328 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Melius Research boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bristol Myers Squibb partners with Microsoft to deploy AI imaging tools to accelerate early lung‑cancer detection — strengthens MSFT’s healthcare AI revenue pipeline and commercial credibility. Bristol Myers partners with Microsoft for AI-driven lung cancer detection
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI (Microsoft‑backed) reportedly hit ~$20B revenue in 2025 — a direct upside to Microsoft’s AI exposure through cloud compute, licensing and partnership arrangements. Microsoft‑Backed OpenAI Hits $20B Revenue Target in 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is pushing to cut data‑center energy use and Nadella warns energy costs will decide the AI race — could reduce future operating/AI infra costs and support margins if successfully executed. Microsoft Wants to Lower Data Center Energy Use. Does That Help the Bull Case for MSFT Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target (from $655 to $625) but kept a Buy — signals continued long‑term conviction but acknowledges nearer‑term valuation/nearterm risk. TD Cowen adjusts price target on Microsoft to $625 from $655, maintains buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft Marketplace gains incremental ecosystem wins (Cobalt Teams integration)—small revenue/engagement boost but limited immediate stock impact. Cobalt Microsoft® Teams® Integration Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace®
• Neutral Sentiment: Jan. 28 earnings is the next major catalyst — investors will focus on Azure growth, AI-related capex and guidance. Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 28
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Azure cloud growth and forward guidance fell short of expectations have pressured the stock — investors are sensitive to any signs of decelerating cloud revenue or rising AI‑related costs. Microsoft (MSFT) Traded Lower as Its Reported Azure Cloud Growth and Forward Guidance Fell Short of Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft researchers published a list of jobs most exposed to AI, and related headlines have contributed to short‑term investor and public sentiment concerns — this helped headlines driving intraday weakness. Microsoft researchers have revealed the 40 jobs most exposed to AI—and even teachers make the list
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market/geo‑political headlines and a tech sector selloff (Magnificent Seven weakness) amplified pressure on MSFT today — macro risk is dragging even well‑funded AI leaders. America’s Biggest Tech Stocks Lead Tuesday’s Selloff as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Rattles Markets

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $454.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $481.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $502.15. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS 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 company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

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).