Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Cut by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Key Points

• Uncommon Cents Investing LLC cut its Microsoft holding by 26.0% in Q4, selling 7,136 shares and ending the quarter with 20,356 shares valued at about $9.845 million (Microsoft is its 3rd largest holding at 2.4% of assets).
• Large institutions increased exposure—Vanguard, State Street, Geode and Northern Trust added millions of shares while Norges Bank initiated a new stake worth about $50.5 billion; institutional investors now own 71.13% of Microsoft stock.
• Microsoft beat Q3 estimates with $4.14 EPS and revenue up 16.7% year-over-year, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share (ex-dividend May 21, payable June 11), a 1.0% yield.

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,356 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,136 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.4% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock worth $259,539,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,314,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was 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.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $370.87 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $355.67 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $392.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $457.37.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given 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 1.0%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.26.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and AI revenue momentum — Microsoft beat Q3 estimates (reported $4.14 EPS) and Azure grew ~39%; commentary highlights dual AI revenue streams and a reported ~$625B AI/computing backlog that underpins future cloud sales. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: How the Tech Giant Monetizes Its AI Infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot + Azure are already lifting profitability — multiple pieces explain how Copilot add-ons and Azure capacity sales are translating to higher margins today, supporting forward revenue visibility. This Is How Microsoft Is Making Money from AI Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst tone — Goldman Sachs reiterated a bullish stance on MSFT, which can anchor buy-side interest despite near-term volatility. Goldman Sachs Maintains Bullish Stance on Microsoft (MSFT) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and IPO timing — coverage notes MSFT’s large OpenAI position as a strategic long-term asset; any OpenAI IPO would materially affect Microsoft’s optionality but timing is uncertain. The Best Way to Invest in OpenAI and ChatGPT Before Its IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory / national-security engagement — White House talks with Microsoft and peers on AI cyber risks highlight government focus; this raises compliance risk but also positions MSFT as a policy partner. AI Cyber Risks Trigger White House Talks with Microsoft, Alphabet, and Major Banks
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure from Anthropic — Anthropic’s Claude integrations for Office threaten margins and market share in enterprise AI assistants, a direct challenge to Microsoft’s Copilot strategy. Anthropic Launches Claude for Word, Challenges Microsoft's Enterprise Dominance
• Negative Sentiment: Execution concerns & "Copilot code red" — Reports of management deploying urgent fixes and investor warnings that Copilot expectations may be outpacing execution can create short-term downside if product rollout or monetization lags. Microsoft's 'Copilot Code Red': CEO Nadella Deploys Emergency Overhaul To Crush AI Rivals
• Negative Sentiment: Stake sales and technical downtrend — Reports that Peter Thiel’s fund sold MSFT in Q4 plus technical analysis noting a prolonged downtrend and 22% YTD slide are pressuring sentiment and may fuel momentum selling. Palantir Billionaire Peter Thiel Sells 2 Trillion-Dollar AI Stocks, but Wall Street Says It's Time to Buy

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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