Caledonia Investments PLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,317 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 12.6% of Caledonia Investments PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Caledonia Investments PLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $113,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Historic multi‑day rally and an “extreme bounce” vs. options pricing — momentum traders are piling in after an unusually large short‑term rebound that options markets hadn’t priced. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: New commercial wins and partnerships widen enterprise AI reach — a five‑year strategic AI, cybersecurity and cloud deal with Stellantis expands Microsoft’s addressable market in automotive software and services. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure buildouts support product adoption — Microsoft secured spare capacity at a Norway data center originally tied to OpenAI (adding large GPU capacity) and an early online Fairweather data center, strengthening Azure’s AI compute supply. Read More. • Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support remains — TD Cowen reiterated a Buy with a $540 target (still below prior $610 target) and other analysts continue to see long‑term AI/cloud upside, giving investors conviction to buy the dip. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Government adoption of Microsoft AI tools (CFTC surveillance) highlights public‑sector demand but is unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially — reflects platform credibility more than a big immediate revenue boost. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Heavy options and unusual volume are amplifying moves — some of the price action reflects positioning and technical dynamics rather than fundamental news. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Competition and product risk — reports that Anthropic/OpenAI moves and new models (Claude Mythos) could pressure Copilot adoption raise execution and competitive risk for Microsoft’s AI offerings. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation headwinds — some firms recently cut price targets (Piper Sandler, Robert W. Baird, etc.) and investors remain concerned about heavy AI capex (data‑center spending) weighing on near‑term returns. Read More. • Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Reputational/ESG noise — the NYT piece on Microsoft scaling back carbon‑removal commitments could prompt criticism and potential impairments or higher scrutiny. Read More.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Trading Up 2.2%
Microsoft stock opened at $420.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $355.67 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $391.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $455.12.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.58.
View Our Latest Report on MSFT
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).
Further Reading
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