Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Lifted by Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,700 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.9% of Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterates conviction and sees roughly 30% upside for MSFT, reinforcing a bullish institutional view that supports longer-term buying interest. Bank of America Sees 30% Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and options traders are piling into MSFT call options, signaling speculative bullish positioning that can amplify rallies on positive headlines. Investors Piling into Microsoft Call Options
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic wins — Microsoft teaming with NVIDIA on AI-for-nuclear projects and continuing datacenter expansion (new Denmark region) underline durable demand for Azure and AI infrastructure, supporting long-term growth narrative. Microsoft–Nvidia Nuclear Push Sparks ETF Opportunity Microsoft Opens New Datacenter Region In Denmark
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal HR retooling and leadership departures (diversity chief exit) are drawing attention but are mainly organizational items; they create short-term uncertainty around execution rather than direct revenue risk. Microsoft HR Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft has frozen hiring in major cloud and North American sales groups — a signal of cost control and potential growth recalibration that spooks investors focused on Azure momentum. Microsoft Freezes Hiring in Major Cloud, Sales Groups
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism and product execution concerns: UBS and others cut price targets or warn that Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption is weaker than hoped — this is the core near-term catalyst dragging multiples lower. Price Target Lowered on M365, Copilot Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and narrative risk from OpenAI disclosures and media coverage of a prolonged pullback (MSFT down sharply from peak, nearing 52‑week low) are increasing investor caution and volatility. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’ MSFT Nears One-Year Low
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s broader market selloff — amplified by geopolitical (Iran) comments that pushed oil higher — is pressuring large-cap tech, contributing to MSFT’s decline independent of company fundamentals. Dow Jones Futures: Market Dives on Geopolitical Comments

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group lowered 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC lowered their price target on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $365.97 on Friday. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $411.42 and a 200 day moving average of $468.63.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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).