Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.78 Billion Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,024,173 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 265,137 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.9% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Microsoft worth $7,781,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $392.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $443.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $483.50. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush cut their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at BNP and others say OpenAI’s large new funding round should still benefit Microsoft because of its deep Azure and infrastructure ties — a reminder that MSFT remains a key AI partner and infrastructure provider. OpenAI’s massive funding round should benefit Microsoft, Oracle: BNP
• Positive Sentiment: An insider (director Stanton John) bought roughly $2M of MSFT stock, signalling confidence from management-level insiders during the pullback. Director Stanton John Just Bought $2 Million of Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat / Altimetry note that Microsoft is “at the center of AI” with high switching costs and under-appreciated fundamentals — an argument that current valuation weakness is sentiment-driven and could reverse. AI Is Separating Software Winners From Losers, 2 Experts Explain
• Positive Sentiment: Dynamics 365 business applications continue to post solid mid-teens to high‑teens growth and are cited as a consistent driver of Productivity & Business Processes revenue — a durable growth stream beyond Azure. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its next quarterly dividend payable March 13 — a steady income signal but unlikely to move the stock materially amid the current narrative-driven trading. Microsoft to pay dividends on March 13; Here’s how much 100 MSFT shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to OpenAI’s announcement cut both ways: Microsoft wasn’t named among some of the latest funding/partner headlines, prompting investor worry about its standing with OpenAI and driving selling pressure. What’s Behind The Drop In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s authorities carried out a raid tied to suspected antitrust issues around Microsoft’s cloud business, raising regulatory risk in a major market. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, source says
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/real‑estate headwinds: reports of data center/building delays and related execution noise have been cited as a near-term drag on sentiment. “On Hold Until Further Notice”: Microsoft Stock Slumps With Building Delay
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-capex and semiconductor market jitters (Nvidia-centric weakness) are depressing the megacap tech complex; investors are weighing heavy industry capex against margins and balance-sheet strain. That macro pressure is spilling over to Microsoft. Nvidia Fails to Reassure—Heard on the Street

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).