Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Lowered by SouthState Bank Corp

Key Points

• SouthState Bank Corp cut its Microsoft stake by 5.0% in Q3 to 256,692 shares (about $132.95M), with Microsoft remaining its largest holding (~6.1%).
• Analysts have trimmed price targets but the consensus remains a “Moderate Buy”, with an average target of $591.95 and the majority of ratings at Buy.
• Microsoft recently beat quarterly estimates—reporting $4.14 EPS versus $3.86 expected and revenue of $81.27B, up 16.7% year‑over‑year.

SouthState Bank Corp decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,692 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 13,600 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.1% of SouthState Bank Corp's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. SouthState Bank Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $132,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 20,335 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,533,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Triglav Investments D.O.O. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the third quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. now owns 250,101 shares of the software giant's stock worth $129,540,000 after purchasing an additional 6,496 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 15.3% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,384,355 shares of the software giant's stock worth $706,461,000 after acquiring an additional 183,549 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 201,663 shares of the software giant's stock worth $104,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $641.00 price target (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Melius Research set a $430.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $591.95.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI funding and related developments may indirectly support Microsoft by stabilizing the OpenAI-Microsoft relationship and reducing immediate existential risk to their AI cloud tie‑ups. OpenAI Funding Gives Microsoft Stock Breathing Space
• Positive Sentiment: Strong AI capex across Big Tech (Broadcom’s upbeat chip outlook) implies continued demand for Azure, Windows and server-hosted AI services — a tailwind for Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise revenue. Broadcom sees revenue above estimates as AI fuels custom chip demand
• Positive Sentiment: Partner ecosystem momentum: UK partner Aureus launched an AI estimator tool for Power Platform and Copilot projects, which can speed enterprise deployments and billing for Microsoft services. Microsoft Solutions Partner Aureus Intelligence AI Launches HyperScoper
• Positive Sentiment: Security wins (collaboration with Europol/Coinbase) show Microsoft’s role in protecting customers and infrastructure, supporting enterprise trust in Microsoft services. Coinbase, Microsoft and Europol take down phishing service ‘Tycoon 2FA’
• Neutral Sentiment: Management reaffirmation and investor outreach (Morgan Stanley presentation/transcript) keep communication open but don’t materially change the financial outlook — useful for longer‑term conviction but neutral to near‑term trading. Microsoft Presents at Morgan Stanley TMT Conference (transcript)
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft remains publicly committed to leveraging OpenAI while also commercializing its own Copilot/Power Platform stack — strategic posture is mixed (partnership + competition). Microsoft Determined To Keep Leveraging On OpenAI Partnership
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly building a rival code-hosting product to GitHub — a direct competitive threat to a Microsoft-owned developer platform and a sign the OpenAI‑Microsoft relationship is shifting toward competition. OpenAI is developing alternative to Microsoft's GitHub
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and valuation caution (firms trimming targets and issuing Hold calls) are pressuring sentiment after a recent share‑price pullback and broader tech weakness. Melius Research and Stifel Downgrade Microsoft to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/reputation noise: reports of widespread Outlook email blocking raised customer frustration and could draw regulatory or enterprise pushback if unresolved. Microsoft Draws Internet Ire Over Wave of Email Blocking
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/valuation pressure: coverage noting a $1T market‑cap decline and commentary from high‑profile investors/journalists fuels short‑term selling despite solid fundamentals. Microsoft Market Value Plunges By $1 Trillion

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $405.20 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $438.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $481.02. The company has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.10. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.