S Bank Fund Management Ltd Reduces Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

S Bank Fund Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 115,655 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,774 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 7.9% of S Bank Fund Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. S Bank Fund Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $59,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Level Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Level Financial Advisors now owns 2,680 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Red Mountain Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,761 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Onyx Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,108 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,536,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $597.73.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $423.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $474.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and upgrades: several outlets and analysts have reiterated buy/overweight ratings and lofty price targets (median ~$600), and some investors and commentators view the pullback as an attractive entry after the drop. This supports the thesis that long‑term growth expectations remain intact. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on Earnings Reaction
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha upgrades: bullish write‑ups argue MSFT is now the “cheapest” of the Magnificent Seven and recommend buying into the weakness — a narrative that can attract value buyers and stabilize price. Microsoft: It Becomes The Cheapest Stock In The Magnificent 7 (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Perplexity investment: coverage of Microsoft’s ~$750M deal/relationship with Perplexity highlights another pathway to monetize AI and expand Azure usage — a constructive catalyst if it boosts consumption without eroding margins. Following a $750 Million Deal with Perplexity, Is Microsoft Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: How Microsoft is scaling AI: coverage explains the company’s long‑term AI strategy (Azure, OpenAI ties, product integrations). This is background positive for structural growth, but it doesn’t immediately resolve near‑term margin/capex concerns. How Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Is Scaling AI Into Its Next Growth Engine
• Neutral Sentiment: Options/put strategies: some commentators argue the share price and implied volatility make selling short‑dated puts an attractive income play — a sign traders see limited immediate downside or want to get long at discounts. This is a market‑structure reaction rather than company fundamentals. Shorting Microsoft Puts Looks Very Attractive To Value Investors In MSFT Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings fallout and AI capex worries: social and analyst reaction centers on a >10% selloff after the quarter — despite revenue/earnings beats — because Azure growth decelerated and management signaled moderated guidance while AI capex spiked (publicized multibillion AI spending). That mismatch (big spending vs. near‑term returns) is the main reason the stock is lower. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on Earnings Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/product issues: reports of a resurfacing hibernation bug and unexpected Xbox permabans have created negative headlines this morning — small on their own but contributing to the negative sentiment mix. Microsoft Stock Falters on Hibernation Fix Flop, Unexpected Xbox Permaban
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales & heavy options volume: recent disclosures show substantial insider selling by senior executives and unusually high options activity — signals some stakeholders are taking chips off the table, which can weigh on sentiment even if strategic. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on Earnings Reaction

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).