Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Trims Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Posted by Caroline Horne on Jan 7th, 2026

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 100,093 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,824 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.3% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $51,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $478.51 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $491.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $503.98.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Mizuho downgraded Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Arete Research upped their price objective on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.03.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Wedbush analyst Dan Ives calls 2026 an “inflection” year for Microsoft, arguing that AI tailwinds and Azure momentum could produce a meaningful re-acceleration that supports higher price targets and investor optimism. Microsoft Stock Is Entering an ‘Inflection’ Year. What Dan Ives Thinks Is Coming for MSFT.
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft struck a high-profile partnership with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator to modernize the Midwest electric grid — a move that underscores Azure’s role in powering AI/data-center demand and addresses energy supply needs for large AI workloads. Microsoft works with major US electric grid operator to modernize the Midwest power system
Positive Sentiment: Microsoft acquired Osmos, a Seattle startup focused on autonomous data engineering — a strategic tuck-in that strengthens Microsoft’s data stack for enterprise AI and could accelerate Azure AI adoption. Microsoft acquires data analytics Seattle startup Osmos to fuel push into autonomous data engineering
Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to lean bullish on MSFT (RBC reaffirmed a Buy; median 12‑month price target coverage remains well above current levels), supporting demand from institutional buyers and momentum traders. RBC reiterates buy rating on Microsoft
Neutral Sentiment: Smaller commercial wins: agentic AI platform Profitmind is now available in the Microsoft Marketplace, an incremental distribution/partner success that helps broaden Azure ecosystem adoption but is not a major revenue catalyst on its own. Profitmind Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace
Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary (Seeking Alpha) frames Microsoft’s OpenAI stake as a strategic hedge — supportive long-term but highlighting execution and capital intensity tradeoffs. That keeps sentiment mixed between long-term bullishness and short-term caution. Microsoft: OpenAI Is Simply A Strategic Hedge
Negative Sentiment: Report: Microsoft is planning another large round of job cuts (estimates 11,000–22,000 roles) in January as AI-related spending and restructuring accelerate — a sign of mounting cost pressures from AI investments and a potential near-term headwind for sentiment despite longer-term productivity aims. Microsoft (MSFT) Plans Thousands of Job Cuts as AI Spending Accelerates

Microsoft Profile

(Free Report)

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).