State of Michigan Retirement System Has $1.08 Billion Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System cut its Microsoft stake by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, but it still held 2,233,867 shares worth about $1.08 billion, making Microsoft its third-largest position.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.27 per share and revenue of $82.89 billion, both above Wall Street estimates. Revenue rose 18.3% year over year, reinforcing the company’s continued growth momentum.
• The company remains a major focus for investors and analysts: 71.13% of shares are institutionally owned, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating overall, and Microsoft has also continued to highlight its AI push through partnerships and product integrations.

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,233,867 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 61,900 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.3% of State of Michigan Retirement System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,080,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 500.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company'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 directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's 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 owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1%

Microsoft stock opened at $418.57 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $399.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $437.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly deepening its AI strategy through talks with Anthropic over use of its Maia AI chips, which could expand demand for Microsoft’s custom silicon and strengthen its position in AI infrastructure. Anthropic in talks to use Microsoft's AI chips, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s reported integration of ChatGPT into Microsoft PowerPoint highlights tighter product tie-ins that could boost adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot and broader enterprise AI usage. ChatGPT Lands in Microsoft PowerPoint
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and EY announced a $1 billion partnership to accelerate corporate AI adoption, reinforcing expectations that Microsoft can monetize AI across large enterprise customers. Microsoft and EY Team to Promote Corporate AI Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles and analyst notes framed MSFT as an undervalued momentum name with AI catalysts building, including RBC reiterating a buy rating, which may be supporting shares. Microsoft had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank Of Canada
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is undergoing an internal AI-era leadership reset, including the planned departure of longtime executive Yusuf Mehdi, which signals strategic change but also adds some organizational uncertainty. Microsoft veteran executive Yusuf Mehdi is leaving after the next fiscal year
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage focused on Microsoft’s GitHub outages and higher AI operating costs, raising questions about execution, infrastructure strain, and whether AI usage is becoming too expensive to scale smoothly. Microsoft's GitHub was positioned to win the AI coding race. Outages got in the way
• Negative Sentiment: The Gates Foundation’s sale of its remaining Microsoft stake was a headline overhang, though it appears more like portfolio rebalancing than a direct read on Microsoft’s fundamentals. The Gates Foundation Sold All of Its Remaining Microsoft Stock. Should Investors Be Worried?

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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