Jackson Square Capital LLC Acquires 6,397 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Jackson Square Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,126 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,397 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.1% of Jackson Square Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Jackson Square Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 564,387.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $45,040,162,000 after purchasing an additional 90,533,328 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% 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, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 a total of 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reiterated an Outperform and set a $625 price target, calling MSFT a “core AI winner” — this boosts buy-side conviction that Microsoft will convert AI investments into outsized revenue and supports higher multiple expansion. Wedbush Calls Microsoft (MSFT) a Core AI Winner With $625 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media pieces (Seeking Alpha et al.) argue Microsoft is the “real AI winner in plain sight,” reinforcing the narrative that Azure, Copilot integrations and enterprise lock?in position MSFT to capture long?term AI revenue. Microsoft: The Real AI Winner Hiding In Plain Sight
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Microsoft’s durable switching costs (Office, Azure, identity) and embedded enterprise workflows — a reminder to investors that customer stickiness can protect margins and sustain recurring revenue. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI (which Microsoft backs) appears closer to showing ads in ChatGPT — a potential new revenue lever but uncertain timing/monetization; investors view this as a watch item rather than an immediate earnings driver. OpenAI Is Getting Closer to Showing Ads on ChatGPT
• Neutral Sentiment: Social/quant summaries note strong Azure/AI growth but also heavy FY25 capex and significant insider sales; these data points keep volatility elevated as investors debate growth vs. capital intensity. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on AI and Cloud Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Reports question whether Microsoft is “overbuilding” data centers and note Copilot adoption challenges; rising capex and slower-than-expected enterprise adoption could pressure margins and temper near?term returns. Is Microsoft overbuilding? Microsoft stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) ticks up with mounting concern
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting Copilot adoption friction and Nadella stepping in as product overseer raises execution risk headlines — such operational concerns can fuel short?term selling despite the longer?term AI story. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella steps up as AI product overseer amid Copilot adoption challenges

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

MSFT opened at $487.61 on Friday. 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 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $497.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.31.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.03.

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).