ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Sells 7,904 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 994,608 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,904 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.3% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $515,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,465,000. Essential Planning LLC. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Essential Planning LLC. now owns 4,548 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Presper Financial Architects LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Presper Financial Architects LLC now owns 2,335 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Montis Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 9,764 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 178,794 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $92,606,000 after buying an additional 10,103 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and notes highlighting Microsoft’s relatively durable free cash flow versus other hyperscalers are soothing investors worried about AI capex. Why Microsoft’s Cash Flow Sets It Apart from Other Hyperscalers
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s large, funded partner programs (notably the multibillion‑dollar IREN deal) are progressing — IREN secured financing and management says Microsoft prepayments/backing reduce execution risk for deploying AI capacity. That validates Microsoft’s ability to source external infrastructure without bearing all capex. IREN Earnings Were Ugly—Is a Beautiful Future Already Funded?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional flows show some buyers stepping in (reported stake increases by managers), suggesting bargain hunting after the pullback. Manning & Napier Advisors boosts Microsoft stake
• Positive Sentiment: Government partnerships (UK deepfake detection) reinforce Microsoft’s regulatory/trust positioning for AI tools — a reputational plus that can support enterprise adoption. Britain to work with Microsoft to build deepfake detection system
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader hyperscaler capex is surging (reports of ~$700B combined spending), a structural trend that supports long‑term AI revenue but puts near‑term pressure on free cash flow across the group. Tech AI spending may approach $700 billion this year, but the blow to cash raises red flags
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure market evolution (bitcoin miners pivoting to lease power to AI customers) creates more supplier options for Microsoft to scale capacity without owning all sites — strategic but execution‑dependent. The Great Pivot: Bitcoin Miners Are Becoming AI’s Landlords
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel’s rare downgrade (Hold) and analyst concern about Google/Anthropic competition for Azure weighed on sentiment earlier this week and triggered part of the sell‑off. Microsoft Stock Gets a Rare Downgrade. AI Competition Is Heating Up for Azure.
• Negative Sentiment: Specific execution worries — slower Copilot adoption and signs of softer Azure acceleration in the quarter — remain key risk points investors are watching; these were central to the post‑earnings sell‑off. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Should You Buy After 22% Plunge?
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/market psychology: an AI‑led rotation has erased large amounts of Big Tech market value, amplifying volatility for Microsoft even when fundamentals look mixed. Big Tech sees over $1 trillion wiped from stocks as fears of AI bubble ignite sell-off

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was 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

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $401.14 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $468.42 and its 200 day moving average is $496.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.95.

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).