Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 4,503 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its Microsoft stake by 4,503 shares (a 0.2% reduction) in Q4, leaving it with 2,627,257 shares worth about $1.27 billion and making MSFT its third-largest holding (~4.1% of the portfolio).
• Quarterly results and payout: Microsoft beat expectations with $4.14 EPS vs. $3.86 consensus and $81.27 billion in revenue (up 16.7% YoY) and declared a $0.91 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield).
• Market positioning and risks: MSFT carries a $2.77 trillion market cap, is ~71% institutionally owned, holds a "Moderate Buy" consensus target of $588.97, but faces investor concerns over higher AI capex, competition, and recent senior departures.

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,627,257 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,503 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.1% of Retirement Systems of Alabama's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,270,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IRON Financial LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,941,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,499,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

MSFT opened at $373.07 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $393.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.09. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $355.67 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded marketing tie-up with Publicis strengthens Microsoft’s positioning in AI-driven advertising and marketing workflows, supporting revenue potential outside core cloud products. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is rolling out enterprise AI infrastructure and governance (Agent 365 launch partners like Reply), which helps convert enterprise demand for managed AI agents into repeatable revenue. This is a strategic enterprise sales lever for Azure and services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: M12-backed RAAPID investment (healthcare AI) highlights Microsoft’s ecosystem play and could widen Azure/Microsoft Health adoption in a regulated vertical. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s large backlog / remaining performance obligations (RPO) — cited above $625B in coverage — gives revenue visibility that could offset short-term margin pressure from capex. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming April earnings release date (Q3 FY26) focuses investors on guidance and capex cadence — a scheduled catalyst that could swing sentiment either way. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market concerns about sharply higher capital expenditures for AI infrastructure and faster-than-expected competition (Google/Anthropic) are pressuring margins and valuation multiples. Coverage highlights a “Copilot code red” overhaul and investor fear that AI buildout costs will persist. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Wave of senior departures raises execution and talent-retention concerns at a sensitive time for product rollouts. Investor nervousness on leadership stability amplifies sell-pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sell-off, geopolitical risk (Middle East) and headlines about developer/service disruptions (e.g., VeraCrypt account lock) are worsening sentiment and liquidity for big-cap tech stocks like MSFT. Read More. • Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 5th. DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft 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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