Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Reduced by Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd

Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 552,371 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 61,161 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 8.1% of Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $286,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second 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. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in 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 buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $384.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $450.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $486.83. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore highlights Microsoft as the only major hyperscaler likely to increase free cash flow despite the AI capex surge — a sign the company’s cloud/AI investments are being funded from strong operations rather than destructive spending. Microsoft stands out as lone Mag 7 hyperscaler to increase FCF during AI capex splurge: Evercore
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs/analyst coverage around the Maia 200 AI accelerator gives MSFT an edge vs. AI competitors — supporting Azure’s long‑term growth thesis. Maia 200 Gives Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) a Boost With Goldman Sachs, But Nowhere Else
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas says OpenAI’s revised spending plan still benefits Microsoft (and Oracle) because continued OpenAI growth drives Azure demand and long-term contractual revenue. OpenAI’s New Spending Plan Is Still a Positive for Microsoft and Oracle, Says BNP Paribas
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketbeat notes insider buying and oversold technical signals that could attract bargain hunters — useful context but not a catalyst by itself. Microsoft Is Sliding—An Insider Buy and Oversold Signals Are Changing the Setup
• Negative Sentiment: Gaming chief Phil Spencer’s retirement and replacement by Asha Sharma (CoreAI background) triggered a stock reaction — investors worry about execution and near-term disruptions even as the move signals tighter AI integration in gaming. Microsoft Gaming Chief Phil Spencer to Retire; Sharma to Succeed
• Negative Sentiment: Service issues reported on Downdetector for Azure/Outlook/MS 365 create short-term uncertainty about platform reliability and could pressure sentiment if outages prove widespread. Is Microsoft down? Downdetector reports issues with Azure, Outlook, MSFT 365
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/wire coverage flags rising AI capex as an earnings risk and some downgrades and high‑profile criticism (e.g., accounting concerns cited by Michael Burry) are denting sentiment and amplifying volatility. Is MSFT Stock Vulnerable to Rising CapEx Pressure From AI Spending?

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

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).