Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Tredje AP fonden's Largest Position

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden reduced its Microsoft stake by 12.6% in Q3—selling 290,772 shares—and still holds 2,009,925 shares worth $1.041 billion, about 8.4% of the fund and its largest position.
• Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 MSFT shares on Feb. 18 at an average price of $397.35, increasing his ownership by 6.34% to 83,905 shares (≈$33.3M).
• Analysts remain broadly positive: the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $591.95, driven by multiple Buy/Outperform notes.

Tredje AP fonden reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,009,925 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 290,772 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 8.4% of Tredje AP fonden's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,041,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $591.95.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bullish case: analysts and commentators highlight Microsoft’s big AI pivot (Copilot, Azure) as a multi-year growth driver that could reshape revenue and margins, supporting the stock’s recovery thesis. Where Will Microsoft Stock Be in 5 Years After This AI Pivot?
• Positive Sentiment: Relative strength among mega-cap peers: recent coverage notes Microsoft rebounded while other Magnificent Seven names stumbled, signaling it can still attract safe-haven flows within large-cap tech rotations. Magnificent 7 News: Microsoft Rebounds While Apple and Alphabet Fall This Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/market noise around AI supply: cloud providers (including Microsoft) say Anthropic products remain available despite a Pentagon blacklist — limits near-term disruption but keeps compliance risk on the radar. Microsoft, Google, Amazon say Anthropic products still available despite Pentagon blacklist
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning shift: Tiger Global’s Chase Coleman no longer lists Microsoft as his top holding for the first time in 13 quarters — signals rotation among mega-caps that can sap near-term demand even if fundamentals remain intact. For the First Time in 13 Quarters, Billionaire Chase Coleman's No. 1 Holding Isn't Meta Platforms or Microsoft -- but It Is a "Magnificent" Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Product/strategy execution concerns: coverage questioning whether Microsoft is worth buying after a ~25% pullback cites modest Copilot enterprise adoption and worries over the composition of Azure’s large order backlog — these raise near-term growth and visibility concerns. Should You Buy Microsoft Stock After Its 25% Correction, or Run for the Hills?
• Negative Sentiment: Investor disappointment from hardware/consumer reveals: Microsoft’s Project Helix Xbox reveal failed to impress some investors, hurting sentiment around discretionary growth initiatives vs. costly AI investments. Microsoft (MSFT) Fails to Impress Investors with Its Project Helix Xbox Reveal
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/safety risk around generative AI: a new lawsuit alleges inadequate safety in GPT-4o with severe harm claims — potential reputational, regulatory and financial risk if the case expands or triggers stricter oversight. Lawsuit Challenges Microsoft AI Safety As Investors Weigh Long Term Impact

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

MSFT opened at $408.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $435.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

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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