Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Reduced by Generali Investments Management Co LLC

Key Points

• Generali Investments Management cut its Microsoft stake by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,033 shares and leaving it with 50,560 shares valued at about $24.45 million.
• Several insiders sold shares, including EVP Kathleen T. Hogan and EVP Amy Coleman, though insiders still own only 0.03% of the company.
• Analysts remain positive overall, with Microsoft carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $560.88, while recent updates highlighted continued AI-related growth drivers alongside some concerns about heavy AI spending and regulatory scrutiny.

Generali Investments Management Co LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,560 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 17,033 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.9% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value 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 approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and EY announced a $1 billion partnership to help enterprises launch and scale AI projects, which could support future Azure usage and Copilot adoption. Microsoft and EY Team to Promote Corporate AI Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Reports said Anthropic is in talks to rent servers powered by Microsoft’s Maia AI chips, a sign Microsoft’s in-house silicon strategy may be gaining traction with major AI customers. Anthropic in talks to use Microsoft’s AI chips, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Microsoft’s AI opportunity, with commentary that AI compute demand is becoming a major growth engine for the company. Microsoft, Oracle Stand To Benefit As AI Compute Becomes The New Oil
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s largest data center in India is still on track to open by mid-2026, reinforcing the company’s ongoing global cloud expansion. Microsoft (MSFT)’s Largest Data Center In India Is On Track To Open By Mid-2026
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage focused on concerns that Microsoft’s aggressive AI capex could be weighing on sentiment, with investors questioning whether spending is outrunning near-term returns. Microsoft Falls 12% As AI Spending Concerns Pressure S&P 500
• Negative Sentiment: The UK CMA also opened a probe into Microsoft’s software practices, adding a regulatory overhang to the stock. UK CMA Opens Probe Into Microsoft (MSFT) Software Practices

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $419.09 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $399.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $437.61. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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