Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its Microsoft stake by 8.0% in Q3, selling 725,960 shares and leaving 8,389,305 shares (≈$4.35 billion), making MSFT its third-largest holding.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $591.95 — and Microsoft recently beat EPS/revenue estimates (EPS $4.14; revenue $81.27B, +16.7% YoY) and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91.

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,389,305 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 725,960 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.3% of Primecap Management Co. CA's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.11% of Microsoft worth $4,345,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant's stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARK & TLK Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $591.95.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $405.76 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $432.22 and its 200 day moving average is $478.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 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: Copilot Cowork (Anthropic’s Claude) rollout strengthens Microsoft’s enterprise AI roadmap and should drive Azure cloud consumption and seat-based revenue growth. Microsoft taps Anthropic for Copilot Cowork in push for AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: New E7 $99/user Microsoft 365 bundle (Copilot + enterprise agents) could accelerate Copilot adoption, raise ARPU and create stickier recurring revenue. Microsoft adds higher-priced Office tier with Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Azure AI momentum and the company’s dual-model strategy (supporting both Anthropic and OpenAI models) sustain long-term cloud growth and give Microsoft optionality regardless of which models customers prefer. Microsoft Positioned to Win AI Race With Dual-Model Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 — provides income support and signals capital-return discipline. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft filed an amicus brief supporting Anthropic’s request to pause the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation — this preserves customer access to Claude (and Azure consumption) but keeps MSFT exposed to an evolving regulatory/geopolitical story. Microsoft files amicus brief in support of Anthropic's lawsuit with US DOD
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst commentary: some see the YTD pullback as a buying opportunity while others point to slower near-term Copilot enterprise rollouts — expect headline-driven intraday swings. Should You Buy Microsoft At $400?
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s Pentagon dispute (supply‑chain designation and ensuing lawsuit) raises regulatory and policy risk that can spill into Microsoft given the partnership and federal contracting exposure. Anthropic sues to block Pentagon blacklisting
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment pressure: an EVP disclosed a multi‑million dollar sale (12,321 shares) and short interest rose in February — both can amplify downside in a thin-volume, news-driven session. SEC Form 4 — Kathleen T. Hogan sale

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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