Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,870,680 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 741,278 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.9% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,076,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in 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 period. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 155.7% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $450.93 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $479.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Redburn Partners set a $450.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $690.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $620.79.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: High-visibility marketing + product partnership — Microsoft announced a multi-year technology and sponsorship deal with the Mercedes‑AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, raising brand exposure for Azure and AI capabilities and signaling enterprise demand for cloud/AI partnerships. Mercedes reveal images, announce Microsoft deal
• Positive Sentiment: Government win — Microsoft landed a roughly $170M Air Force Cloud One task order for Azure through 2028, validating Azure’s government demand and recurring-revenue profile. Defense contracts reduce revenue uncertainty and support cloud backlog visibility. Air Force awards $170M Cloud One contract
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional conviction — Activist/hedge investors (Third Point’s Dan Loeb) increased stakes in Microsoft, signaling belief in MSFT’s AI/cloud growth despite 2025 volatility. That buying can support the stock ahead of earnings. Billionaire investor doubles down on AI, boosts stakes
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer/engagement catalyst — Xbox Developer_Direct presentation lifted sentiment around gaming/content growth and monetization opportunities for Microsoft’s consumer franchises. Xbox Developer_Direct 2026 coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed but generally constructive — Several firms reiterated Buy/Overweight ratings (Jefferies, Guggenheim, Wells Fargo) even as price targets were trimmed in places, reflecting confidence in long‑term AI/cloud upside but acknowledgement of near‑term risks. Jefferies buy rating
• Negative Sentiment: Service outage hit — A Microsoft 365/Outlook outage disrupted access to email, files and meetings for thousands of users, creating immediate operational risk for enterprise customers and short‑term headline pressure on trust in cloud reliability. Microsoft 365 outage report
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and earnings concerns — Analysts and commentaries flagged cloud/AI margins as a key “tripwire” into the upcoming fiscal Q2 results; higher data‑center power and capacity costs could pressure near‑term margins if revenue mix doesn’t improve. That is weighing on the stock into earnings. Cloud margins are the tripwire ahead of FQ2
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cuts/downgrades — A few shops trimmed price targets or signaled range‑bound outlooks (Rothschild, TD Cowen, others), which feeds short‑term selling pressure given MSFT’s recent pullback. Rothschild price target cut

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).