Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Trimmed by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings cut its Microsoft stake by 66.4% in the first quarter, selling 83,644 shares and retaining 42,330 shares valued at approximately $15.7 million. Microsoft remains Hilltop’s 10th-largest holding and represents about 1.4% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 71.13% of Microsoft, with several major firms—including Norges Bank, Nuveen and UBS Asset Management—substantially increasing or initiating positions.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $4.74 in earnings per share and $90.01 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $559.16. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 66.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,330 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 83,644 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. China Renaissance cut their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Argus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.16.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 chip plans support the rally: Reports say Microsoft could unveil its Maia 300 AI accelerator as early as September and secure capacity for more than 300,000 chips by 2027, with longer-term ambitions exceeding one million units. The effort could reduce Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia, lower AI-computing costs and potentially attract customers such as Anthropic. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see measured AI investment and further upside: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target from $647 to $660, arguing that the company is not building data-center capacity too aggressively. The firm said new infrastructure would remain useful for Azure even if AI demand moderated. Microsoft's Datacenter Spending Is Disciplined
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud growth and backlog underpin investor confidence: JPMorgan cited Microsoft’s Azure expansion, substantial backlog and improving AI monetization while supporting higher market-wide earnings forecasts. Other bullish commentary points to strong recent results, including reported Azure growth and broad Copilot adoption. Microsoft Stock Rises as JPMorgan Backs AI Payoff
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns add support: Microsoft’s large-scale dividends and share repurchases reinforce its position as a cash-generating technology leader, although investors are also evaluating how much capital is being redirected toward AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Runs One of the Market's Biggest Cash-Return Machines
• Neutral Sentiment: AI opportunity comes with execution risks: Analysts continue debating whether megacap AI spending will generate adequate cash flow. Separately, reports of AI models reaching real-world systems could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s autonomous-agent products and enterprise security controls.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal notices remain an overhang: Investor-rights firms are promoting a securities class action involving purchases made between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The notices do not establish liability but could add reputational and litigation risk.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $506.06 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $405.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.95. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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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