Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Raises Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors slightly increased its stake in Microsoft, owning 2,137,491 shares (up 5,972 shares) which represent 5.5% of its portfolio and were valued at about $1.0337 billion in the latest 13F filing.
• Microsoft recently beat expectations with EPS $4.14 (vs. $3.86) and revenue of $81.27 billion, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 (annualized $3.64, ~1.0% yield) payable June 11 with an ex‑dividend date of May 21.
• The company is pursuing an aggressive AI strategy — including a reported $10 billion multi‑year investment in Japan and a shift to build frontier AI models in‑house — while analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target near $588.97 amid mixed investor sentiment.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,137,491 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 5.5% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,033,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,941,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $828,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,816,000 after buying an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $373.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $400.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $462.93. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft pledged a major strategic buildout in Japan — a $10 billion, multi‑year plan to fund AI data centers, cybersecurity and workforce training with partners including SoftBank and Sakura Internet, underpinning long‑term cloud/A.I. revenue opportunities and local partnerships. Microsoft to invest $10 billion in Japan for AI and cyber defence expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out multiple proprietary AI models and signaled it will build frontier models in‑house — a strategic shift to reduce dependence on partners and capture more of the AI stack (product control, margins and IP). This supports the long‑term AI revenue thesis. Microsoft building its own high-powered AI models as it looks to slash dependence on OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Management says Copilot sales targets were met after changing the go‑to‑market approach (moving to paid/subscription rather than broad bundling), a sign of product monetization gaining traction. That helps offset concerns about adoption. Microsoft hits Copilot sales goals after strategy shift - Bloomberg
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage / and some street notes raised targets (coverage and a $675 price target were reported), providing analyst support that could lift sentiment if follow‑through occurs. Microsoft Charts $10 Billion of Outlays in AI-Eager Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced local partnerships and community programs (e.g., Victoria University datacenter academy) that support talent pipeline and social license for datacenter expansion — constructive but longer‑dated impact. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) Partners with Victoria University on Datacenter Community Pledge
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller ecosystem developments (Sakura Internet confirming talks, local partners’ stock moves) amplify the Japan story but are execution‑dependent; useful context for investors tracking regional rollout. SAKURA Internet Confirms Exploratory AI Cloud Collaboration Talks With Microsoft Japan
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly performance and commentary have disappointed some investors — headlines describe a Q1 "slide" and the worst quarterly drop since 2008 for MSFT, feeding the narrative of short‑term weakness and valuation re‑rating. That continues to pressure the stock. After Microsoft’s Q1 Slide, Are the Bulls Still On Board?
• Negative Sentiment: Several large funds / billionaires have trimmed MSFT positions in recent 13F disclosures (D.E. Shaw, Steve Cohen, Dan Loeb), signaling some institutional profit‑taking amid concerns over cloud supply constraints and guidance — a headwind for near‑term flows. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Billionaire Steve Cohen Trims Position
• Negative Sentiment: Security/product risks surfaced (reports on "AI recommendation poisoning") and ongoing execution demands for in‑house frontier models add operational risk and could temper upside if issues emerge. AI Recommendation Poisoning: Why Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT Is Fighting So Hard

Microsoft 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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