Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,663,025 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 282,246 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.1% of Holocene Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,379,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a letter of intent to receive 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPU systems at Nscale’s new West Virginia “Monarch” AI campus — a clear signal Microsoft is securing large-scale external AI capacity to support customer demand and accelerate AI workloads. Nscale and Microsoft Announce Collaboration with NVIDIA and Caterpillar to Deliver 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs at Flagship AI Factory Campus in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia-backed Nscale acquired a 2,250-acre campus and plans up to 8GW of compute there — the scale of this buildout increases available AI capacity in which Microsoft can be a customer/partner, easing short-term Azure capacity constraints and supporting long-term cloud/AI revenue growth. Nvidia-Backed Nscale Plans Huge Data Center Cluster in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary and analysts continue to call Microsoft a long-term AI winner and a potential buying opportunity amid the pullback — bullish analyst notes can support near-term buying interest and reduce downside from headline-driven volatility. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition Microsoft Is ‘Long-Term Winner’ In AI Arms Race—Sell-Off Is Buying ‘Opportunity,’ Says Don Nesbitt
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft joined or backed anti-scam initiatives — good for reputation and user trust but limited direct near-term earnings impact. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition
• Neutral Sentiment: Big-tech carbon credit purchases are rising as AI capacity expands; Microsoft is a leader — this signals higher ESG spending and potential margin/headline impacts, but it also mitigates regulatory/PR risks. Big Tech purchases of carbon credits explode amid AI race, with Microsoft leading the way
• Negative Sentiment: Industry article flags nearly $700B of off‑balance-sheet data center leases led by Microsoft/peers — a reminder that massive AI infrastructure commitments carry financial and execution risk if revenue growth lags. Data Center Leases: Is Spending Mindful Of Revenues?
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and downgrade talk emphasize macro, competition and geopolitical/war-related risks to Microsoft’s outlook — such narratives can pressure sentiment and valuation multiples even if fundamentals remain strong. Microsoft: Macrohard, Competition, And War-Related Fears (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile investor selling (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund trimming Microsoft) can fuel short-term negative headlines and investor nervousness despite differing long-term views. Palantir Billionaire Peter Thiel Sells 3 AI Stocks in a $74 Million Warning to Wall Street.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $399.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $426.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $475.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid 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 yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Mizuho cut their price target on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

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).