Sowell Financial Services LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Posted by Stephan Jacobs on Jan 9th, 2026

Sowell Financial Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,291 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 12,093 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.8% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $73,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Real Talk Capital LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.8% during the second quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $457,119,000 after purchasing an additional 33,382 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.3% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 285,163 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $147,700,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $478.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $488.91 and a 200-day moving average of $503.66.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $630.11.

Get Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Major analyst support remains intact — Jefferies reiterated a Buy on MSFT with a $675 target, and other firms (Wedbush, Scotiabank) continue positive stances, reinforcing a bullish long-term AI/cloud story. Microsoft’s (MSFT) AI Strategy Reinforces Its Position as a Long-Term Winner, Analyst Says
Positive Sentiment: New commercial partnerships extend Copilot/Azure monetization paths — PayPal will power checkout in Copilot and Fiserv has an AI partnership to embed Microsoft tech, both help drive direct revenue/usage for Copilot and Azure. PayPal Teams With Microsoft to Power Checkout in Copilot
Positive Sentiment: Product momentum and enterprise demand remain strong — reporting around robust Azure demand, agentic AI tools for retail, and new robotics/automation partnerships that expand Azure’s TAM. These support revenue visibility and margin recovery as AI deployments scale. Microsoft Unleashes Agentic AI To Automate Every Corner Of Retail
Neutral Sentiment: EU digital-rule update reportedly spares big tech from the strictest measures — less regulatory tightening would be neutral-to-positive for MSFT but it’s a policy development to monitor. Exclusive: Big Tech spared strict rules in EU digital rule overhaul, sources say
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target consensus points to sizable upside (~30% mean) and multiple firms flag MSFT as a top AI play — bullish medium-term context but not an immediate catalyst. Wall Street Analysts Predict a 30.32% Upside in Microsoft (MSFT)
Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings and corporate cadence — Microsoft announced its quarterly earnings date; previews suggest continued double‑digit growth expectations, making the report a potential near-term catalyst. Microsoft announces quarterly-earnings release date
Negative Sentiment: Layoff rumors and cost worries have circulated (reports of thousands of cuts); Microsoft publicly pushed back calling some figures “100 percent made up,” but the rumor flow can pressure sentiment and drive short-term selling. “100 Percent Made Up”: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips in Response to Layoff Rumors
Negative Sentiment: Local opposition to a proposed data center in Michigan and broader community pushback could create PR/headwind risks and slow site builds — timing/permits matter for capacity expansion plans. Microsoft revealed as company behind controversial data center proposal in Michigan township
Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure around OpenAI (lawsuit allowed to proceed to trial) is a reputational/legal risk given Microsoft’s close ties and investments in OpenAI. Elon Musk’s lawsuit accusing ChatGPT-maker OpenAI Of Betraying Its Nonprofit Mission Can Go To Trial, Judge Rules

Microsoft Profile

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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).