Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lifted by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,194,502 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,505 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.9% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.19% of Microsoft worth $6,879,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 56,889 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $27,513,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 84,412 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $40,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 61,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. Kure Advisory LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Kure Advisory LLC now owns 2,440 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC now owns 29,700 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,364,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

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 analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $365.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $411.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.63.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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).