S Harris Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• S Harris Financial Group LLC initiated a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 10,489 shares valued at about $5.07 million. Microsoft now makes up roughly 4.8% of the firm’s holdings and is its sixth-largest position.
• Institutional interest in Microsoft remains strong, with hedge funds and asset managers continuing to add or expand positions. Overall, institutions and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s shares.
• Microsoft continues to draw support from AI-driven Azure demand and strong financial performance, while analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $561.20.

S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,489 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $5,073,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.8% of S Harris Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 908.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 23,568,250 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,398,077,000 after purchasing an additional 21,231,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price target (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New reporting suggests Microsoft is still benefiting from strong AI demand, including ByteDance spending more than $1 billion annually on Azure AI services and broader commentary that Azure growth and AI run-rate remain major drivers of investor interest. Microsoft Builds $1 Billion-Plus AI Business With ByteDance
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces argued Microsoft’s pullback may be creating a buying opportunity because the company still has strong cash flow, dividend growth, and discounted valuation relative to its AI prospects. Microsoft's Boring Stock Story May Be Its Biggest Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also drew attention for product and ecosystem updates, including a possible PayPal integration for Xbox buy-now-pay-later checkout and new Teams features, but these are not likely near-term stock movers. Microsoft Sizes Up PayPal as Xbox Leak Exposes Buy Now Pay Later Plans
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or promoted securities class actions tied to Microsoft, alleging investors were harmed by misleading AI/Copilot-related statements during the May 2025 to January 2026 period. These legal headlines can weigh on sentiment. Portnoy Law Firm Announces Class Action on Behalf of Microsoft Corporation Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Another negative overhang is the claim that Copilot functionality issues contributed to a sharp stock drop, reinforcing investor concerns about execution risk and AI spending efficiency. Investor Rights Alert: Microsoft Faces Securities Fraud Class Action after Copilot Issues
• Negative Sentiment: There is also renewed concern that Microsoft’s gaming strategy is under pressure, with coverage pointing to the Steam Machine and broader cost-cutting in gaming as threats to growth in that segment. The Biggest Threat to Microsoft’s Gaming Ambitions is the Steam Machine

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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 $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $379.40 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $412.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.15. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.Microsoft's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

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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