AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $491.82 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its Microsoft stake by 3.9% in the first quarter, but still held 1.33 million shares valued at about $491.8 million. Microsoft remains its second-largest position and makes up 6.5% of the portfolio.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Microsoft, with 41 Buy ratings and six Holds, giving the stock a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $561.20.
• Microsoft reported solid quarterly results, topping earnings and revenue estimates with $4.27 EPS and $82.89 billion in revenue, while also announcing a $0.91 quarterly dividend payable in September.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,331,614 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 54,332 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 6.5% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $491,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the first quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 251,543 shares of the software giant's stock worth $93,114,000 after acquiring an additional 6,335 shares during the last quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the first quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 12,710 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,705,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Lexington Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 62.6% during the first quarter. Lexington Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.4% in the first quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 7,710 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,854,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Arete Research boosted their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to be framed as a long-term AI winner, with commentary highlighting strong Azure growth, a multi-billion-dollar AI revenue run rate, and the company’s deep role in enterprise AI adoption. Got $1,000? 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now and Hold for the Next Decade.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s new 20-year Chevron power deal for a Texas AI data center reinforces confidence that it is still expanding aggressively to support future AI demand, which could help drive long-term cloud revenue. Microsoft Stock In Focus After Inking 20-Yr, 2.67 GW Power Deal With Chevron To Fuel AI Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also getting support from bullish market commentary that says the stock may be oversold and could rebound as investors distinguish between short-term pressure and long-term fundamentals. Dan Ives Believes MSFT Is The Most Oversold Large-Cap Stock, Draws Parallels To 'Negative' Narratives Around GOOGL A Year Ago
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a new AI-in-education report and related tools, but this is more of a product/marketing update than a material near-term earnings driver. Microsoft's New AI in Education Report highlights widespread adoption and increasing demand for support
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh legal headlines are pressuring sentiment, as multiple law firms publicized securities class action claims tied to alleged investor harm and Copilot-related disclosures. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed skepticism around its quantum-computing claims after a Nature-linked critique questioned the scientific basis of its earlier breakthrough announcement. Microsoft's quantum computing technology called into question, again
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to broader concerns that heavy AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margin trends, even if it supports future growth. Chamath Says Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft Aren’t Bleeding Cash — They’re Building Moats

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $365.12 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $411.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

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).

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