Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Northside Capital Management LLC

Northside Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,897 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,110 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.2% of Northside Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Northside Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.97.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $365.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $411.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $468.63.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterates conviction and sees roughly 30% upside for MSFT, reinforcing a bullish institutional view that supports longer-term buying interest. Bank of America Sees 30% Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and options traders are piling into MSFT call options, signaling speculative bullish positioning that can amplify rallies on positive headlines. Investors Piling into Microsoft Call Options
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic wins — Microsoft teaming with NVIDIA on AI-for-nuclear projects and continuing datacenter expansion (new Denmark region) underline durable demand for Azure and AI infrastructure, supporting long-term growth narrative. Microsoft–Nvidia Nuclear Push Sparks ETF Opportunity Microsoft Opens New Datacenter Region In Denmark
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal HR retooling and leadership departures (diversity chief exit) are drawing attention but are mainly organizational items; they create short-term uncertainty around execution rather than direct revenue risk. Microsoft HR Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft has frozen hiring in major cloud and North American sales groups — a signal of cost control and potential growth recalibration that spooks investors focused on Azure momentum. Microsoft Freezes Hiring in Major Cloud, Sales Groups
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism and product execution concerns: UBS and others cut price targets or warn that Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption is weaker than hoped — this is the core near-term catalyst dragging multiples lower. Price Target Lowered on M365, Copilot Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and narrative risk from OpenAI disclosures and media coverage of a prolonged pullback (MSFT down sharply from peak, nearing 52‑week low) are increasing investor caution and volatility. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’ MSFT Nears One-Year Low
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s broader market selloff — amplified by geopolitical (Iran) comments that pushed oil higher — is pressuring large-cap tech, contributing to MSFT’s decline independent of company fundamentals. Dow Jones Futures: Market Dives on Geopolitical Comments

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).