Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Has $162.52 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC cut its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 44.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 336,058 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 264,272 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 7.4% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $162,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, 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 value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to show strong long-term AI positioning, with articles noting robust AI revenue growth and that the company remains a compelling way to play the AI boom. Microsoft: Growth Outlook Still Robust Without OpenAI Exclusivity
• Positive Sentiment: New products and platform integrations, including Microsoft Advertising’s Media Marketplace launch partner Dstillery and Copilot-related AI updates, suggest ongoing monetization opportunities. Dstillery Brings Predictive AI Audiences to Microsoft Media Marketplace as Launch Partner
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argued Microsoft remains undervalued relative to its AI growth, but these were mostly opinion pieces rather than new business developments. Microsoft in 2026: Still the Smartest Way to Play the AI Boom?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal due to security issues weighed on shares and raised concern about AI infrastructure availability. Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure talks with Oracle collapse, Business Insider reports
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or reminded investors about class-action litigation tied to Microsoft’s Azure and AI disclosures, creating an added legal and reputational overhang. Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Encourages Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders To Inquire About Securities Fraud Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary turned more cautious, with several pieces warning that Microsoft’s valuation may already reflect much of the AI optimism and recommending investors sell rallies. Why This Analyst Is Telling Investors to Dump Microsoft Stock (MSFT)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. New Street Research cut their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $378.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $412.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

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).