Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Lifted by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. modestly raised its Microsoft stake in Q4 by 1.0% to 7,951,743 shares, a holding worth about $3.85 billion that represents roughly 5.5% of Robeco’s portfolio and ~0.11% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft beat Q3 expectations with $4.27 EPS vs. $4.04 expected and $82.89B revenue, citing accelerating Azure growth and over 20M paid Copilot users; however, investors are watching rising capex, margin pressure, and strategic/partnering and workforce risks.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,951,743 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 81,063 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.5% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.11% of Microsoft worth $3,845,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.46 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $395.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.65. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.30 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $392.00 price target (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $563.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 EPS beat and revenue roughly in line — Microsoft reported $4.27 EPS, ahead of consensus, and revenue near Street expectations, which helped validate the company’s growth trajectory. Microsoft (MSFT) Beats Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Azure / Intelligent Cloud acceleration: management said cloud growth accelerated (company commentary and charts show mid-to-high‑30s/40% growth in Azure), easing investor worries that AI spending isn’t yet translating to demand. Microsoft tops Wall Street expectations, reports accelerating Azure growth and $37B AI run rate
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot adoption and monetization showing traction — Microsoft reported over 20M paid Copilot users with rising engagement, supporting future software/recurring-revenue upside. Microsoft says it has over 20M paid Copilot users
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance roughly in line — Q4 revenue guidance was near consensus, so the company isn’t signaling an immediate downshift, but investors will watch next‑quarter detail for AI margin leverage. Press release / slide deck
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn AI products on revenue track — Microsoft said LinkedIn hiring agents could reach ~$450M in annual revenue, a niche but tangible AI monetization path. LinkedIn's AI hiring agents on track for $450 million
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx surge and margin pressure — disclosures and third‑party summaries show capex rose sharply (large spend on data centers/AI hardware), which squeezes near‑term margins and fuels investor concern about ROI timing. Q3 earnings: capex surges (Quiver)
• Negative Sentiment: Partnership & competitive noise — OpenAI’s revised terms (non‑exclusive distribution) and the broader partner shifts to rivals like Amazon raise strategic questions about Microsoft’s privileged access and cloud leverage. OpenAI-Microsoft exclusivity reset coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce and restructuring signals — Microsoft expects headcount to decline and has offered voluntary buyouts; that reduces near‑term payroll but underscores cost pressures tied to the AI buildout. Microsoft expects headcount to decrease

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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