Castellan Group Sells 10,919 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Castellan Group lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 63.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,200 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 10,919 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.3% of Castellan Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Castellan Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $828,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2,332.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,262,509,000 after buying an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $383.34 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $404.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $415.50. The company has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is shifting more Excel and Outlook AI prompts to its own MAI models instead of relying on OpenAI and Anthropic, a move that could reduce AI costs and improve long-term profitability. Microsoft joins AI cost-cutting trend by relying more on its own models
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentators argue Microsoft is trading at a rare discount after its recent pullback, suggesting some investors see the sell-off as a buying opportunity ahead of earnings later this month. Microsoft (MSFT) Is Trading at a Rare Discount. I See a Buying Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced it will report fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results on July 29, keeping attention on cloud growth, AI spending, and whether margin pressure is easing. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft continues to get positive attention from some market voices, including CNBC’s “Final Trades,” but this is more sentiment support than a direct fundamental catalyst. Nvidia, Microsoft, ServiceNow And More On CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s Xbox unit is facing a deep reset, including roughly 3,200 job cuts and studio divestitures, reinforcing concerns that parts of the business are struggling and that layoffs may not be done yet. Microsoft’s Xbox to Cut 3200 Jobs, Divest Five Studios in Major Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also dealing with multiple shareholder lawsuits and deadline reminders tied to alleged securities fraud and Copilot-related disclosures, which adds an overhang on sentiment. MSFT Investment Loss: Microsoft Investors that Lost Money after Copilot Functionality Issues Disclosed are Notified to Contact BFA Law about the Filed Securities Fraud Class Action

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. China Renaissance cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.98.

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).