Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Decreased by Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Osborne Partners Capital Management trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,223 shares and leaving the fund with 134,267 shares valued at about $64.9 million.
• Despite that small reduction, Microsoft remains a major institutional favorite: hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company, and several large investors recently added to their positions.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish overall, with 39 analysts rating Microsoft a Buy and a consensus price target of $560.88; the company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend.

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,267 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,223 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.3% of Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $64,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is drawing bullish attention after news that its MDASH cybersecurity system outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI in a key test, reinforcing the company’s AI leadership and enterprise security story.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and Phillip Securities both reiterated or upgraded Microsoft with bullish ratings, with fresh price targets suggesting meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced Carmine Di Sibio, former EY chairman and CEO, has joined its board of directors, which may be viewed as a governance and strategic-strengthening move.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is pursuing AI startup acquisitions beyond OpenAI suggest management is preparing new growth drivers and reducing reliance on a single AI partner.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Microsoft’s expanding AI revenue run rate and ongoing enterprise adoption, which continue to support the long-term growth narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship, including a possible revenue-sharing cap and testimony from Satya Nadella, but the market impact is still uncertain until more deal details become public.
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn’s planned 5% workforce reduction may help margins, but it also signals ongoing restructuring across Microsoft’s ecosystem rather than a clear near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. competition regulator launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s business software dominance, raising the risk of future restrictions in Office, cloud, and AI-related distribution.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of browser-tab data collection in Microsoft Edge could add privacy concerns around Copilot and AI memory features, potentially increasing scrutiny of Microsoft’s consumer AI products.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing headlines about elevated AI spending, OpenAI-related trial testimony, and investor caution around capex may keep pressure on sentiment until Microsoft proves the returns on its AI investments.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research dropped their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, 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 value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $409.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $397.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $441.52.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

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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