Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Lessened by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Key Points

• Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its Microsoft stake by 4.5% in Q4, selling 23,020 shares to hold 493,162 shares valued at about $238.5 million, making MSFT its second-largest position (~4.5% of the fund).
• Microsoft is accelerating its AI strategy — committing a $10 billion multi-year investment in Japan for AI data centers and cybersecurity, building frontier AI models in-house, and shifting Copilot to a paid/subscription model that management says has met sales targets.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.97, though some firms have trimmed targets amid short-term quarterly weakness.

Riverbridge Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 493,162 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 23,020 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.5% of Riverbridge Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $238,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 40,054 shares of the software giant's stock worth $19,371,000 after buying an additional 4,858 shares during the last quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,260,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 13,288 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,427,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 63,344 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,634,000 after buying an additional 8,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 71,917 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $34,781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $600.00 target price (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft pledged a major strategic buildout in Japan — a $10 billion, multi‑year plan to fund AI data centers, cybersecurity and workforce training with partners including SoftBank and Sakura Internet, underpinning long‑term cloud/A.I. revenue opportunities and local partnerships. Microsoft to invest $10 billion in Japan for AI and cyber defence expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out multiple proprietary AI models and signaled it will build frontier models in‑house — a strategic shift to reduce dependence on partners and capture more of the AI stack (product control, margins and IP). This supports the long‑term AI revenue thesis. Microsoft building its own high-powered AI models as it looks to slash dependence on OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Management says Copilot sales targets were met after changing the go‑to‑market approach (moving to paid/subscription rather than broad bundling), a sign of product monetization gaining traction. That helps offset concerns about adoption. Microsoft hits Copilot sales goals after strategy shift - Bloomberg
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage / and some street notes raised targets (coverage and a $675 price target were reported), providing analyst support that could lift sentiment if follow‑through occurs. Microsoft Charts $10 Billion of Outlays in AI-Eager Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced local partnerships and community programs (e.g., Victoria University datacenter academy) that support talent pipeline and social license for datacenter expansion — constructive but longer‑dated impact. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) Partners with Victoria University on Datacenter Community Pledge
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller ecosystem developments (Sakura Internet confirming talks, local partners’ stock moves) amplify the Japan story but are execution‑dependent; useful context for investors tracking regional rollout. SAKURA Internet Confirms Exploratory AI Cloud Collaboration Talks With Microsoft Japan
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly performance and commentary have disappointed some investors — headlines describe a Q1 "slide" and the worst quarterly drop since 2008 for MSFT, feeding the narrative of short‑term weakness and valuation re‑rating. That continues to pressure the stock. After Microsoft’s Q1 Slide, Are the Bulls Still On Board?
• Negative Sentiment: Several large funds / billionaires have trimmed MSFT positions in recent 13F disclosures (D.E. Shaw, Steve Cohen, Dan Loeb), signaling some institutional profit‑taking amid concerns over cloud supply constraints and guidance — a headwind for near‑term flows. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Billionaire Steve Cohen Trims Position
• Negative Sentiment: Security/product risks surfaced (reports on "AI recommendation poisoning") and ongoing execution demands for in‑house frontier models add operational risk and could temper upside if issues emerge. AI Recommendation Poisoning: Why Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT Is Fighting So Hard

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $373.46 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $400.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.93. The company has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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