Arizona State Retirement System Has $964.16 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its Microsoft stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1,993,631 shares valued at about $964.16 million, making MSFT its third-largest holding and about 5.2% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with several other hedge funds and investors adjusting positions and roughly 71.13% of Microsoft stock held by institutions overall.
• Microsoft continues to draw mostly positive analyst and business sentiment: analysts keep a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $560.88, while recent headlines highlight strong Azure growth and supportive AI-related developments, despite some concerns around insider selling and mixed Xbox messaging.

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,993,631 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 68,399 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 5.2% of Arizona State Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Microsoft were worth $964,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. IRON Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% in the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock worth $493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the 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 sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure cloud business is still growing strongly, with recent commentary pointing to about 40% growth, reinforcing the company’s AI and cloud leadership thesis. 9 Best Cloud Stocks to Buy as Azure Growth Hits 40%
• Positive Sentiment: The jury defeat for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI removed a legal overhang around Microsoft’s AI partner ecosystem and was viewed as a bullish development for MSFT’s broader AI strategy. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: New product news around Surface devices for business and AI workloads suggests Microsoft is still pushing enterprise hardware and AI adoption across its ecosystem. Microsoft launches Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with Intel chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also unveiled enterprise Surface models powered by Intel Core Ultra chips, which is a product refresh but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst on its own. Microsoft (MSFT) Unveils Enterprise Surface Lineup Powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn said it will lay off more than 600 employees, a cost-cutting move that may help margins but also signals restructuring inside Microsoft’s professional networking unit. Panic in California as LinkedIn announces hundreds of layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are focusing on concerns about mixed Xbox messaging, which may be weighing on sentiment around Microsoft’s gaming segment. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Mixed Xbox Messaging
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted a Windows drivers issue that could hurt battery life on Windows 11 laptops, adding a small but negative product-quality overhang. “Blind Spot” in Windows Drivers Leads to Sub-Par Battery Life, Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by EVP Amy Coleman, while modest, can also dampen sentiment when the stock is already under pressure. Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT EVP Amy Coleman Sells 1,262 Shares

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America initiated 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $417.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $398.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $439.04. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.