Fisher Funds Management LTD Cuts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Fisher Funds Management LTD decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 23.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 379,888 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 116,331 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.2% of Fisher Funds Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Fisher Funds Management LTD’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $196,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 155.7% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $401.82 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $462.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.44. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s $30B Series G (valuing the company at $380B) included investments tied to Microsoft, underscoring continued enterprise demand for AI and reinforcing MSFT’s strategic positioning in the AI ecosystem. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion as Enterprise AI Demand Explodes
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft deepened its sovereign‑cloud and AI push via a Capgemini alliance, boosting Microsoft’s government and regulated-industry reach—a revenue and sticky‑customer positive for Azure and commercial cloud. Microsoft Deepens Sovereign Cloud And AI Push With Capgemini Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat argues Azure migrations (legacy SQL and enterprise workloads) are a steady, high‑margin growth engine that cushions AI capex volatility—important context for long‑term revenue stability. Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft issued security fixes for actively exploited Windows/Office zero‑day vulnerabilities—operationally positive because it reduces enterprise risk and supports trust in its OS/Office franchises. Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysts note MSFT may be bottoming at channel support after the pullback, suggesting a possible short‑term rebound if volume and patterns confirm. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional activity is mixed—some funds have trimmed MSFT exposure while others added shares—indicating diverging views among large holders rather than a consensus directional shift. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple bullish commentaries and analyst upgrades argue the post‑earnings sell‑off creates a buying opportunity, which could support the stock if macro sentiment improves. Buy Microsoft’s Falling Price Despite An Overvalued Macroeconomy
• Negative Sentiment: Street reports highlight investor concern that heavy AI capex and cautious Azure guidance will pressure margins and free cash flow—this remains the primary near‑term driver of the sell‑off. Street Reassesses Microsoft (MSFT) Amid Azure Growth and Capex Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: FT coverage notes shifts in OpenAI relationships and leadership at Anthropic plotting “self‑sufficiency,” highlighting competitive and strategic friction in Microsoft’s AI partnerships—adds uncertainty to the OpenAI‑centric part of MSFT’s narrative. Mustafa Suleyman plots AI ‘self-sufficiency’ as Microsoft loosens OpenAI ties
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile criticism (e.g., Chamath) that Microsoft has underperformed other hyperscalers since the ChatGPT era adds negative sentiment pressure and can amplify short‑term selling. Microsoft Is ‘Worst-Performing’ Hyperscaler Stock Since ChatGPT Launch, Chamath Palihapitiya Says

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

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).