Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $1.95 Billion Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,755,922 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 52,163 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.8% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.05% of Microsoft worth $1,945,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victrix Investment Advisors lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 18,620 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,644,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.0% during the third quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,509 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,551,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co of South Dakota increased its holdings in Microsoft by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sageworth Trust Co of South Dakota now owns 1,668 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 277,263 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $143,608,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $392.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $443.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $483.82. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the 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 owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 target price (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at BNP and others say OpenAI’s large new funding round should still benefit Microsoft because of its deep Azure and infrastructure ties — a reminder that MSFT remains a key AI partner and infrastructure provider. OpenAI’s massive funding round should benefit Microsoft, Oracle: BNP
• Positive Sentiment: An insider (director Stanton John) bought roughly $2M of MSFT stock, signalling confidence from management-level insiders during the pullback. Director Stanton John Just Bought $2 Million of Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat / Altimetry note that Microsoft is “at the center of AI” with high switching costs and under-appreciated fundamentals — an argument that current valuation weakness is sentiment-driven and could reverse. AI Is Separating Software Winners From Losers, 2 Experts Explain
• Positive Sentiment: Dynamics 365 business applications continue to post solid mid-teens to high‑teens growth and are cited as a consistent driver of Productivity & Business Processes revenue — a durable growth stream beyond Azure. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its next quarterly dividend payable March 13 — a steady income signal but unlikely to move the stock materially amid the current narrative-driven trading. Microsoft to pay dividends on March 13; Here’s how much 100 MSFT shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to OpenAI’s announcement cut both ways: Microsoft wasn’t named among some of the latest funding/partner headlines, prompting investor worry about its standing with OpenAI and driving selling pressure. What’s Behind The Drop In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s authorities carried out a raid tied to suspected antitrust issues around Microsoft’s cloud business, raising regulatory risk in a major market. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, source says
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/real‑estate headwinds: reports of data center/building delays and related execution noise have been cited as a near-term drag on sentiment. “On Hold Until Further Notice”: Microsoft Stock Slumps With Building Delay
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-capex and semiconductor market jitters (Nvidia-centric weakness) are depressing the megacap tech complex; investors are weighing heavy industry capex against margins and balance-sheet strain. That macro pressure is spilling over to Microsoft. Nvidia Fails to Reassure—Heard on the Street

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).