Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Raised by New England Research & Management Inc.

Key Points

• New England Research & Management Inc. raised its Microsoft stake by 18.4% in Q4, adding 2,325 shares to hold 14,955 shares worth $7.23M, making MSFT its third-largest holding and part of a stock base that is 71.13% institutionally owned.
• Microsoft beat Q results (EPS $4.14 vs. $3.86 expected; revenue $81.27B, +16.7% YoY), announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 (1.0% yield), and carries a consensus analyst price target of about $588.97 (rating: Moderate Buy).

New England Research & Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,955 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.2% of New England Research & Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the second 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 bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $371.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $413.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $469.35.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BofA reinstated coverage with a Buy and a $500 price target, highlighting Azure and Copilot as drivers for multiyear upside. BofA Projects 31% Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Nvidia unveiled an AI partnership aimed at accelerating nuclear-energy design and operations — a potential new commercial use case that underscores enterprise AI tailwinds. Microsoft, Nvidia Team Up To Build AI-Powered Nuclear Energy Future
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership and HR changes (including the departure of Microsoft’s diversity chief and a wider HR reorganization) are underway — operationally important but with an unclear near-term impact on revenue. Microsoft's diversity chief is leaving
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch reports this is MSFT’s worst quarter in 17 years, citing weak near-term trends in cloud and software that may not be quickly fixed — a primary driver of negative sentiment. Microsoft's stock is having its worst quarter in 17 years
• Negative Sentiment: UBS trimmed its 12‑month price target (from $600 to $510), flagging investor scrutiny on M365 and Copilot monetization — a sign analysts see slower near-term upside even if long‑term views remain constructive. Microsoft price target lowered on M365, Copilot questions
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s investor document lists heavy reliance on Microsoft for financing and compute as a top risk — this disclosure increases perceived counterparty/partner concentration risk. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting Copilot retention/monetization issues and rising AI infrastructure spending suggests the stock will need clearer product traction or margin evidence to resume a sustainable rally. Microsoft Shows “Sense of Urgency,” But MSFT Stock Will Only Rally on This Condition

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.97.

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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