Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management cut its Microsoft stake by 16.8%, selling 99,735 shares in Q4 and retaining 492,504 shares worth about $238.2 million, making MSFT its fifth-largest holding.
• Market sentiment is mixed: some analysts highlight large implied upside from the recent sell‑off, while investors fret over near‑term free‑cash‑flow pressure and operational/regulatory risks from massive AI‑related capex and executive departures.
• Insider activity was mixed—EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares (~$5.05M) and Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares—and analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target near $589.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 492,504 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 99,735 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.3% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $238,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock worth $259,539,471,000 after acquiring an additional 7,314,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Research reports show continued large addressable markets for Microsoft across enterprise ICT (U.S. and Australia), reinforcing Azure and services growth tailwinds for cloud, AI and cybersecurity. United States Enterprise ICT Intelligence Report 2025 Australia Enterprise ICT Intelligence Report 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is being named a launch partner for Agent 365, strengthening its enterprise AI governance and agent management positioning — a commercial lever for Azure and enterprise suites. Reply selected by Microsoft as Launch Partner for Agent 365
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and bullish commentary argue the recent sell‑off is overdone and highlight large implied upside from current levels, supporting a contrarian buy case for long‑term investors. Wall Street Sees 58% Upside in Microsoft After Selloff
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative coverage examines MSFT vs. other AI software names (e.g., Palantir), useful for relative valuation decisions but not an immediate price driver. Palantir vs Microsoft: Which AI Stock Offers Better Value?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is included in industry initiatives (Anthropic’s Project Glasswing, A2A Protocol adoption) around AI safety and interoperability — strategically supportive but mixed near‑term impact. Anthropic Hires Microsoft AI Leader A2A Protocol Surpasses 150 Organizations
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that hyperscalers are facing water, power and local resistance for data centers raise operational and capex risk; investors are fretting about MSFT’s heavy AI‑related buildout costs. While Amazon, Microsoft, Google Struggle With AI On Land — China Looks To The Sea
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary and some sell‑side notes point to a “capex panic” and temporary free‑cash‑flow compression from massive AI infrastructure spending; this remains the dominant near‑term bearish narrative. Microsoft: Temporary CapEx Panic Masks The Long‑Term Edge
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing senior executive departures and isolated security/account incidents (e.g., developer account lockouts) are feeding sentiment concerns around execution and governance. Microsoft Faces Another Senior Departure
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/AI‑safety scrutiny escalated after Anthropic’s Mythos preview triggered high‑level meetings to assess model risks — potential for tighter rules or compliance costs. Anthropic Mythos Triggers Bessent, Powell's Meeting

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business'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 transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $588.97.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $373.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $355.67 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $393.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.09.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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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