Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Decreased by Seilern Investment Management Ltd

Seilern Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,799 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 70,745 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 6.9% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Seilern Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $88,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in 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 buying an additional 3,532,054 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $356.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $409.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 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 capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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. 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 analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued 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 (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC cut their price target on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street analysts still see large upside for MSFT, arguing the pullback may be overdone and presenting a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. Wall Street Says Microsoft Stock Has 89% Rebound Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental revenue drivers remain: LinkedIn ad growth and marketing solutions are cited as near‑term revenue positives that help offset AI spending concerns. Microsoft Benefits From LinkedIn Ad Growth: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has implemented targeted hiring freezes in major cloud and North American sales groups while keeping AI and engineering hiring active — a cost‑management move that highlights prioritization of AI infrastructure but leaves uncertainty over near‑term sales execution. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups, The Information reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion continues: third‑party partner Crusoe announced a 900 MW AI campus in Abilene, Texas to support large‑scale workloads for Microsoft — this reinforces demand for hyperscale capacity even as investors debate ROI timing. Crusoe Announces New 900 MW AI Factory Campus in Abilene, Texas to Support Microsoft AI Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative has flipped: analysts and commentary say Microsoft is “losing the AI narrative,” and technical indicators show the stock at decade‑low oversold levels — fueling momentum selling. Microsoft’s stock hasn’t been this oversold in a decade, with the tech giant ‘really losing the AI narrative’
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI capex and execution concerns: multiple reports highlight Microsoft’s very large AI spending (reports cite ~$30B per quarter-level scale), slowing Copilot adoption vs. expectations, and the stock is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 — pressuring valuations and near‑term sentiment. Microsoft Is Down 24% This Year While Spending $30B a Quarter on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks are rising: OpenAI and other AI firms (including reports of Anthropic eyeing an IPO) are evolving relationships and competition that could reduce Microsoft’s exclusive leverage in parts of the AI stack. Anthropic eyes IPO, Microsoft stock set for worst quarter since 2008

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).