Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Cut by Channing Global Advisors LLC

Channing Global Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 19.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,294 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,991 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.4% of Channing Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $401.72 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $445.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $484.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. 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 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. 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and AI strategists argue Microsoft is a core AI infrastructure winner — a driver for investor interest given Azure, identity/auth layers and high switching costs that position MSFT to benefit from AI-driven enterprise spending. AI Is Separating Software Winners From Losers
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s new collaboration with Starlink signals expanded connectivity and potential Azure edge use cases (rural/remote customers), supporting cloud revenue optionality and positive sentiment around partnership-driven growth. Microsoft Is Teaming up With Starlink
• Positive Sentiment: An insider purchase (director John Stanton) added a small but visible vote of confidence after the post-earnings sell-off, which can support short-term sentiment and stabilize shares. Director Stanton John Just Bought $2 Million of Microsoft Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: The White House’s planned power-cost pledge with big cloud/data-center firms (including Microsoft) reduces one operational risk for hyperscalers and could be a modest long-term positive for data-center economics, though timing/implementation remain uncertain. White House to host Big Tech pledge
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella’s public comments pushing back on low-quality “AI slop” reflect management trying to shape the narrative around responsible, enterprise-grade AI — a reputational plus but contributed to short-term volatility as markets parsed the tone. Satya Nadella Rails Against AI Slop
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s Fair Trade Commission raided Microsoft Japan offices in a probe into possible restrictions around Azure customers using rival cloud services — this antitrust scrutiny is an immediate regulatory overhang that can hurt sentiment and add legal/operational uncertainty. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law
• Negative Sentiment: Market debate continues over Azure growth pacing vs. very large AI infrastructure capex (management flagged elevated AI-related investment), which knocked the stock after Q2 despite beats — investors are weighing near-term margin/cash impact against longer-term AI revenue upside. Microsoft Stock Opinions on Fiscal Q2 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sector risks — heightened talk of AI regulation and a Magnificent Seven rotation — keep pressure on valuations and can amplify moves in MSFT even when fundamentals are solid; this contributes to volatility until clarity on regulation and data-center costs emerges. Will Regulating AI Cripple AI Stocks?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Microsoft Company 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).