Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its Microsoft stake by 8.5% in the second quarter, selling 1.28 million shares and retaining 13.74 million shares worth approximately $5.13 billion. Institutional investors still own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with 43 analysts rating Microsoft a Buy and the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating alongside an average price target of $570.62.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, both ahead of expectations, while AI-driven Azure and Copilot growth support the outlook. However, investors remain concerned that heavy AI infrastructure spending could pressure free cash flow before returns fully materialize.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,740,829 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,276,147 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.5% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Microsoft worth $5,125,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 79,838 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,781,000 after acquiring an additional 5,657 shares during the last quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC now owns 73,607 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $27,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,338 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 143.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 16,106 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,008,000 after purchasing an additional 9,483 shares during the last quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 22.6% during the second quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,262 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $570.62.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $610 from $550 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing improving estimates for Microsoft’s commercial cloud business and potential revenue from the new E7 enterprise licensing tier. Why is Microsoft stock up on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s revamped Copilot is becoming more enterprise-focused, while usage-based billing expected to begin in November could simplify adoption and improve monetization. Analysts also see potential for paid Copilot seats to continue expanding rapidly. What a Revamped Copilot Means for Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is bringing OpenAI’s autonomous “Dots” agents into its enterprise security and governance framework, strengthening its position in workplace AI. A long-term Xbox publishing agreement with Take-Two also supports the gaming ecosystem. Microsoft Brings OpenAI’s Autonomous Dots AI Workers Into the Enterprise
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has delivered a substantial quarterly rally, but its valuation remains below its recent average P/E despite strong Azure growth, expanding Copilot demand and a sizable commercial backlog. This leaves room for additional upside, although expectations are already elevated. How Much Upside Is Left In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that surging AI infrastructure spending could outpace free cash flow before Azure and Copilot returns fully materialize. Microsoft also warns that AI agents may weaken traditional software pricing power and customer loyalty. The AI Revolution Could Be Microsoft’s Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $512.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $484.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.53. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.