Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 5,625 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Cannell & Spears LLC trimmed its stake in Microsoft by 0.8%, selling 5,625 shares and now holds 742,608 shares valued at $384,634,000, making Microsoft 7.3% of the firm's portfolio and its largest holding.
• Microsoft has near-term product catalysts — a $99/month AI tools bundle launching May 1 and an expansion into healthcare with Copilot Health — and recently beat quarterly earnings while announcing a $0.91 quarterly dividend.
• Insider activity was mixed: EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares (~$5.05M, an 8.2% reduction in her stake) while Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares; corporate insiders own about 0.03% of the company.

Cannell & Spears LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 742,608 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,625 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 7.3% of Cannell & Spears LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Cannell & Spears LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $384,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft's Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, New Street Research upped their price target on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $395.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $427.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.81. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) 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 during 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders 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 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

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).

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