Parnassus Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Parnassus Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,505,495 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 184,930 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.6% of Parnassus Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 0.06% of Microsoft worth $2,178,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canopy Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 25,068 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,124,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,399,231 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $676,696,000 after acquiring an additional 20,017 shares during the period. Winning Points Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $7,023,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. now owns 649 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Graetz Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. China Renaissance dropped their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore dropped their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.45, for a total value of $1,031,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,434,201.60. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 19,262 shares of company stock valued at $8,695,581 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $390.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $410.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $429.22. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators remain bullish on Microsoft’s long-term AI outlook, arguing the stock looks attractive after the recent pullback and that Copilot/agentic AI could still drive upside. Microsoft Remains A Generational Buying Opportunity In The Agentic AI Era
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to win AI-infrastructure-related business, including a new 260 MW solar supply deal that supports its data-center and cloud expansion needs. MN8 Energy Delivers 260 MW of Solar to Microsoft Across Two U.S. Power Markets
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reinforcing Microsoft’s cash-generation strength and shareholder-return profile. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments on using the right AI model for the right task highlight Microsoft’s push for AI efficiency, but also signal growing attention to AI compute costs. Satya Nadella Warns Against AI Overuse
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft limiting employee use of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 over data-retention concerns underscores tighter AI governance, though the direct financial impact appears limited. Microsoft limits employee use of Anthropic's Claude Fable 5
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Xbox is preparing major layoffs and budget cuts are pressuring sentiment, as they point to restructuring and weaker confidence in the gaming segment. Microsoft's Xbox plans for major layoffs next month
• Negative Sentiment: News that Microsoft is cutting jobs in its Azure unit in China adds to concerns about geopolitical friction and near-term cloud execution. Microsoft lays off hundreds from Azure unit in China
• Negative Sentiment: Broader commentary that AI data-center spending may be facing a reality check is weighing on the market’s enthusiasm for Microsoft’s heavy AI capex plans. Wall Street's $800 Billion AI Data Center Bet Is Showing Cracks

About Microsoft

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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