DAVENPORT & Co LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 959,701 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 34,944 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.5% of DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $464,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company rolled out Copilot Cowork and other Copilot upgrades (task‑execution across Microsoft 365 and multi‑model workflows) that expand enterprise AI use cases and adoption potential. This is being cited as a revenue/ADOPTION catalyst. Microsoft unveils AI upgrades, rolls out Copilot Cowork to early-access customers
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights the Copilot expansion and new AI products as the main reason for today’s upside — investors are watching how quickly Copilot adoption converts to revenue without margin pressure. Stock Market Today, March 30: Microsoft Rises on Copilot Expansion and New AI Product Launches
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/valuation traders and some high‑profile investors see opportunity: pieces pointing to MSFT being “oversold” and comments from investors calling the stock “extremely cheap” are prompting buy‑the‑dip flows. Those narratives can amplify rallies after product news. Microsoft Stock Hasn’t Been This Oversold In Years — Time To Buy? Bill Ackman Calls Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) ‘Extremely Cheap’ Amid Market Selloff
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish analysts argue the pullback creates large upside potential (one note citing a big rebound scenario), which can attract speculative buying on rebounds. One Analyst Sees Microsoft Soaring 90%. Here’s What the Market Might Be Missing
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/business model moves (Game Pass rethink and an expanded Xbox roster) are longer‑term strategic positives but remain a mixed near‑term revenue story given tough comps and prior weakness in gaming revenue. Impact on today’s trade is limited. Microsoft’s bold Game Pass rethink resets the rule for gaming
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and market skepticism persists: UBS cut its price target (still a buy), and broader headlines note MSFT as the worst‑performing Magnificent Seven stock YTD — reminders that sentiment remains fragile and could cap rallies. UBS Lowers PT on Microsoft (MSFT), Maintains a Buy Rating Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Is the Worst Mag 7 Performer YTD — Here’s Who Owns It
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage questions whether MSFT’s diversified model is helping or masking AI execution issues; continued underperformance vs. the S&P and macro/geopolitical selloffs (e.g., recent market shocks) are headwinds for sentiment and could lead to further downside if adoption/profit translation disappoints. Microsoft’s stock may extend a record stretch of lagging performance that’s ignited fierce debate

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6%

MSFT stock opened at $358.96 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $407.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 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, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore reduced their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Two investment 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 target price of $588.97.

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).