Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Decreased by Howard Capital Management Group LLC

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Group LLC trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.0% to 188,901 shares (about $91.36 million), making MSFT its 5th largest holding at roughly 5.8% of the fund.
• Several large institutions made material moves — including new multibillion‑dollar stakes from Norges Bank and Nuveen and big additions from UBS AM and Northern Trust — leaving institutional investors owning 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analysts give Microsoft a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $577.58; the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.14 vs. $3.86) and announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend (0.9% yield).

Howard Capital Management Group LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,901 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,947 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.8% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Howard Capital Management Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $91,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $577.58.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $420.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $355.67 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $391.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $455.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Historic multi‑day rally and an “extreme bounce” vs. options pricing — momentum traders are piling in after an unusually large short‑term rebound that options markets hadn’t priced. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New commercial wins and partnerships widen enterprise AI reach — a five‑year strategic AI, cybersecurity and cloud deal with Stellantis expands Microsoft’s addressable market in automotive software and services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure buildouts support product adoption — Microsoft secured spare capacity at a Norway data center originally tied to OpenAI (adding large GPU capacity) and an early online Fairweather data center, strengthening Azure’s AI compute supply. Read More. • Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support remains — TD Cowen reiterated a Buy with a $540 target (still below prior $610 target) and other analysts continue to see long‑term AI/cloud upside, giving investors conviction to buy the dip. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Government adoption of Microsoft AI tools (CFTC surveillance) highlights public‑sector demand but is unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially — reflects platform credibility more than a big immediate revenue boost. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy options and unusual volume are amplifying moves — some of the price action reflects positioning and technical dynamics rather than fundamental news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and product risk — reports that Anthropic/OpenAI moves and new models (Claude Mythos) could pressure Copilot adoption raise execution and competitive risk for Microsoft’s AI offerings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation headwinds — some firms recently cut price targets (Piper Sandler, Robert W. Baird, etc.) and investors remain concerned about heavy AI capex (data‑center spending) weighing on near‑term returns. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/ESG noise — the NYT piece on Microsoft scaling back carbon‑removal commitments could prompt criticism and potential impairments or higher scrutiny. Read More.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, 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 value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% 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, 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 directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company 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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