Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s 2nd Largest Position

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 734,309 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 37,139 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 7.2% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $271,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. China Renaissance decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $365.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $411.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $422.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to be framed as a long-term AI winner, with commentary highlighting strong Azure growth, a multi-billion-dollar AI revenue run rate, and the company’s deep role in enterprise AI adoption. Got $1,000? 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now and Hold for the Next Decade.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s new 20-year Chevron power deal for a Texas AI data center reinforces confidence that it is still expanding aggressively to support future AI demand, which could help drive long-term cloud revenue. Microsoft Stock In Focus After Inking 20-Yr, 2.67 GW Power Deal With Chevron To Fuel AI Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also getting support from bullish market commentary that says the stock may be oversold and could rebound as investors distinguish between short-term pressure and long-term fundamentals. Dan Ives Believes MSFT Is The Most Oversold Large-Cap Stock, Draws Parallels To ‘Negative’ Narratives Around GOOGL A Year Ago
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a new AI-in-education report and related tools, but this is more of a product/marketing update than a material near-term earnings driver. Microsoft’s New AI in Education Report highlights widespread adoption and increasing demand for support
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh legal headlines are pressuring sentiment, as multiple law firms publicized securities class action claims tied to alleged investor harm and Copilot-related disclosures. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed skepticism around its quantum-computing claims after a Nature-linked critique questioned the scientific basis of its earlier breakthrough announcement. Microsoft’s quantum computing technology called into question, again
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to broader concerns that heavy AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margin trends, even if it supports future growth. Chamath Says Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft Aren’t Bleeding Cash — They’re Building Moats

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).