Hound Partners LLC Decreases Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Hound Partners LLC trimmed its Microsoft stake by 13% in Q3, selling 5,193 shares to hold 34,888 shares worth about $18.07 million, roughly 2.3% of its portfolio and its 11th-largest position.
• Several large institutions increased holdings (e.g., Hyperion +8% to 777,666 shares; ICONIQ +313.8% to 151,006; Farallon +9.5% to 1,913,135), and hedge funds/institutions now own about 71.13% of Microsoft stock.
• Analysts rate Microsoft an average "Moderate Buy" with a $591.95 average target after the company beat quarterly estimates (EPS $4.14 vs. $3.86) and announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend (0.9% yield).

Hound Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,888 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,193 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.3% of Hound Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Hound Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 777,666 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $402,792,000 after purchasing an additional 57,767 shares during the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 313.8% in the third quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 151,006 shares of the software giant's stock worth $78,214,000 after buying an additional 114,515 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 12.2% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 281,906 shares of the software giant's stock worth $146,013,000 after buying an additional 30,741 shares during the period. Fagan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Fagan Associates Inc. now owns 82,067 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,507,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 9.5% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,913,135 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $990,908,000 after acquiring an additional 165,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $399.95 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $426.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $475.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Activity

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

More Microsoft News

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.

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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