Royal Fund Management LLC Buys 3,661 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Royal Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 10.7% in Q4, buying 3,661 shares to hold 37,760 shares valued at about $18.3 million, representing 1.7% of the fund’s portfolio and its 8th largest holding.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates with $4.14 EPS (vs. $3.86) and $81.27 billion revenue (up 16.7% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share (annual $3.64, yield 1.0%; ex-dividend May 21, payable June 11).

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,760 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.7% of Royal Fund Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Royal Fund Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lowered their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $586.26.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MSFT opened at $370.87 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $392.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $458.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $355.67 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas analyst reiterates confidence that Azure can still “crush estimates” despite investor worries about $150B+ AI spending, arguing Microsoft is on a “war footing” (Copilot overhaul) that supports continued cloud revenue upside. Microsoft Azure Still Poised To Crush Estimates Despite $150 Billion Spending Fears: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis pieces argue recent sell‑off may be overdone — framing capex concerns as temporary and highlighting MSFT’s long‑term edge in agentic AI, custom silicon and enterprise suites. This supports the bull case for patient investors. Microsoft: Temporary CapEx Panic Masks The Long-Term Edge
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s ecosystem continues to show incremental wins—third‑party offerings landing in the Microsoft Marketplace and M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm) participating in industry deals—helping sustain commercial momentum. A2A Protocol / Marketplace Adoption
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI’s large‑scale monetization plans (reported ad revenue ambitions) could alter the AI market structure; MSFT’s exposure to OpenAI is material, but implications are mixed for Microsoft’s direct revenue and strategic posture. How OpenAI's Reported Ad Plans Could Change the AI Business Model
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft confirmed its Q3 earnings release date (April 29) — a near‑term catalyst that could amplify moves if results or guidance deviate from expectations. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Negative Sentiment: Product execution concerns surfaced as reports note Copilot UI changes and some institutional customers favoring Anthropic’s Claude — signs of competitive pressure and potential customer churn in AI assistant adoption. Microsoft's Copilot 'Feels Like Teams:' Why This Fund Manager Is Swapping It For Claude
• Negative Sentiment: Industry reports point to real‑world constraints (land, power, permits) forcing hyperscalers to delay or scrap data center projects — a direct challenge to MSFT’s ability to scale cloud capacity quickly without steep incremental costs. While Amazon, Microsoft, Google Struggle With AI On Land — China Looks To The Sea
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and sector weakness: new console sales data and broader software slump headlines have pressured MSFT shares alongside peers, and at least one large investor disclosed trimming a Microsoft stake. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft Stocks All Fall on New Video Game Console Sales Data

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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