Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Americana Partners LLC’s Largest Position

Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,570 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,048 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.8% of Americana Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $225,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MSFT opened at $401.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $462.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).