Fayez Sarofim & Co Sells 28,310 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co trimmed its Microsoft stake by 28,310 shares (0.4%) in Q3, retaining 7,823,368 shares — about 9.4% of the fund's portfolio and roughly $4.07 billion in value (≈0.11% of Microsoft).
• Insider activity: Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares at about $397.35, while EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares at about $409.52, an 8.2% reduction in her holding.
• Performance and payouts: Microsoft reported an EPS beat ($4.14 vs. $3.86) on $81.27B revenue (+16.7% YoY), carries a ~$2.97T market cap, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 (≈0.9% yield).

Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,823,368 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 28,310 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 9.4% of Fayez Sarofim & Co's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 0.11% of Microsoft worth $4,073,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $399.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $426.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $475.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a letter of intent to receive 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPU systems at Nscale’s new West Virginia “Monarch” AI campus — a clear signal Microsoft is securing large-scale external AI capacity to support customer demand and accelerate AI workloads. Nscale and Microsoft Announce Collaboration with NVIDIA and Caterpillar to Deliver 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs at Flagship AI Factory Campus in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia-backed Nscale acquired a 2,250-acre campus and plans up to 8GW of compute there — the scale of this buildout increases available AI capacity in which Microsoft can be a customer/partner, easing short-term Azure capacity constraints and supporting long-term cloud/AI revenue growth. Nvidia-Backed Nscale Plans Huge Data Center Cluster in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary and analysts continue to call Microsoft a long-term AI winner and a potential buying opportunity amid the pullback — bullish analyst notes can support near-term buying interest and reduce downside from headline-driven volatility. Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition Microsoft Is 'Long-Term Winner' In AI Arms Race—Sell-Off Is Buying 'Opportunity,' Says Don Nesbitt
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft joined or backed anti-scam initiatives — good for reputation and user trust but limited direct near-term earnings impact. Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition
• Neutral Sentiment: Big-tech carbon credit purchases are rising as AI capacity expands; Microsoft is a leader — this signals higher ESG spending and potential margin/headline impacts, but it also mitigates regulatory/PR risks. Big Tech purchases of carbon credits explode amid AI race, with Microsoft leading the way
• Negative Sentiment: Industry article flags nearly $700B of off‑balance-sheet data center leases led by Microsoft/peers — a reminder that massive AI infrastructure commitments carry financial and execution risk if revenue growth lags. Data Center Leases: Is Spending Mindful Of Revenues?
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and downgrade talk emphasize macro, competition and geopolitical/war-related risks to Microsoft’s outlook — such narratives can pressure sentiment and valuation multiples even if fundamentals remain strong. Microsoft: Macrohard, Competition, And War-Related Fears (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile investor selling (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund trimming Microsoft) can fuel short-term negative headlines and investor nervousness despite differing long-term views. Palantir Billionaire Peter Thiel Sells 3 AI Stocks in a $74 Million Warning to Wall Street.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $641.00 price target (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $591.95.

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).

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.