Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management trimmed its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in Q4 to 145,215 shares (about $70.23M), making MSFT roughly 3.6% of the firm's portfolio and its third-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat quarterly expectations with $4.14 EPS vs. $3.86 expected and revenue of $81.27 billion (up 16.7% year-over-year), while the stock trades with a market cap of about $2.77 trillion and a consensus price target near $588.97.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 (annualized $3.64, yield ~1.0%) ex-dividend May 21 payable June 11, and reported insider activity including Director John W. Stanton buying 5,000 shares and EVP Kathleen T. Hogan selling 12,321 shares.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,215 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,926 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.6% of Boston Common Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $70,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $373.07 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $393.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $355.67 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded marketing tie-up with Publicis strengthens Microsoft’s positioning in AI-driven advertising and marketing workflows, supporting revenue potential outside core cloud products. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is rolling out enterprise AI infrastructure and governance (Agent 365 launch partners like Reply), which helps convert enterprise demand for managed AI agents into repeatable revenue. This is a strategic enterprise sales lever for Azure and services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: M12-backed RAAPID investment (healthcare AI) highlights Microsoft’s ecosystem play and could widen Azure/Microsoft Health adoption in a regulated vertical. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s large backlog / remaining performance obligations (RPO) — cited above $625B in coverage — gives revenue visibility that could offset short-term margin pressure from capex. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming April earnings release date (Q3 FY26) focuses investors on guidance and capex cadence — a scheduled catalyst that could swing sentiment either way. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market concerns about sharply higher capital expenditures for AI infrastructure and faster-than-expected competition (Google/Anthropic) are pressuring margins and valuation multiples. Coverage highlights a “Copilot code red” overhaul and investor fear that AI buildout costs will persist. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Wave of senior departures raises execution and talent-retention concerns at a sensitive time for product rollouts. Investor nervousness on leadership stability amplifies sell-pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sell-off, geopolitical risk (Middle East) and headlines about developer/service disruptions (e.g., VeraCrypt account lock) are worsening sentiment and liquidity for big-cap tech stocks like MSFT. Read More. • Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 2nd. DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $392.00 price target (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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).

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