Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Trims Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,081,551 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 729,862 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.7% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,006,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.74 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $411.08 and its 200 day moving average is $428.64. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Evercore dropped their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price target (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. New Street Research dropped their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.

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).