Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.19 Billion Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its Microsoft stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, but it still holds 14.86 million shares valued at about $7.19 billion. Microsoft remains its second-largest position and makes up 3.7% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support, with institutions owning 71.13% of shares and analysts giving it a Moderate Buy rating on average. The consensus price target is $561.20, and multiple firms recently reiterated bullish ratings.
• The company posted solid recent results, including EPS of $4.27 versus the $4.06 estimate and revenue of $82.89 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share. Microsoft stock was trading around $460.52 and was up 2.3% in the session mentioned.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,858,135 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 166,038 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Microsoft worth $7,185,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Astra Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Astra Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,224 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,043,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,260,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,065,907 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $515,494,000 after buying an additional 59,009 shares in the last quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,163 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,431,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 28,571 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $13,818,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. They set a "market outperform" rating for the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $561.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $460.52 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $403.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $433.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.62 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. 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 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia unveiled its RTX Spark / N1X AI PC chip in partnership with Microsoft, and multiple reports say this validates Microsoft’s push into “agentic” Windows PCs and could open a new growth avenue in AI-enabled devices. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Build 2026 conference begins June 2, and investors are positioning for product and AI announcements that could showcase new Copilot, cloud, and developer tools. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary has turned more constructive, with one new call highlighting Microsoft’s upside potential as AI demand and enterprise adoption continue to support revenue growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Microsoft’s broader AI strategy, including new coding-model competition with Google and OpenAI and a redesigned Microsoft 365 Copilot interface, which signals continued investment but no immediate earnings impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted Microsoft is benefiting from a bullish technical setup, with shares moving above the 200-day moving average and sentiment improving after a weak start to the year. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One report raised concerns about internal employee sentiment and increased performance pressure at Microsoft, which is not an immediate stock driver but could point to execution strain if it persists. Article Title

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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