Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Increased by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 100,322 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,318 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.5% of Simmons Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $384.36 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $403.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $414.79. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.98.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to expand its AI strategy, including a new “Microsoft Frontier Company” unit backed by a $2.5 billion investment and staffed with thousands of industry and engineering experts to help customers adopt AI faster.
• Positive Sentiment: Haleon signed a five-year agreement with Microsoft to deploy agentic AI across global operations, showing that enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth continue to support the long-term bull case, with the company still viewed as a key beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings date for July 29, which keeps investor focus on upcoming results and guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain split on the stock, with some arguing Microsoft is trading at a rare discount after a steep pullback, while others say heavy AI capital spending is clouding the near-term outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is replacing some OpenAI and Anthropic models with its own in-house AI tools have stirred debate, with investors interpreting it as both a cost-saving move and a sign that Microsoft is trying to control AI expenses more tightly.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted rising AI infrastructure spending, including concerns that capex is growing faster than margin benefits, which is pressuring sentiment toward MSFT and other hyperscalers.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed a 25%–27% jump in greenhouse gas emissions as data center buildout accelerated, adding ESG and execution concerns to the AI expansion story.
• Negative Sentiment: Class-action lawsuit headlines and deadline reminders tied to alleged AI/Copilot misrepresentations are adding legal overhang and investor uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks’ plan to use its own AI tools to cut software costs from vendors like Microsoft is feeding a broader narrative that large enterprises may eventually reduce third-party software spending.

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).