Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Increased by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 299,159 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,996 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.3% of Gradient Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $144,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $356.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $409.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.65. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street analysts still see large upside for MSFT, arguing the pullback may be overdone and presenting a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. Wall Street Says Microsoft Stock Has 89% Rebound Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental revenue drivers remain: LinkedIn ad growth and marketing solutions are cited as near‑term revenue positives that help offset AI spending concerns. Microsoft Benefits From LinkedIn Ad Growth: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has implemented targeted hiring freezes in major cloud and North American sales groups while keeping AI and engineering hiring active — a cost‑management move that highlights prioritization of AI infrastructure but leaves uncertainty over near‑term sales execution. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups, The Information reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion continues: third‑party partner Crusoe announced a 900 MW AI campus in Abilene, Texas to support large‑scale workloads for Microsoft — this reinforces demand for hyperscale capacity even as investors debate ROI timing. Crusoe Announces New 900 MW AI Factory Campus in Abilene, Texas to Support Microsoft AI Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative has flipped: analysts and commentary say Microsoft is “losing the AI narrative,” and technical indicators show the stock at decade‑low oversold levels — fueling momentum selling. Microsoft’s stock hasn’t been this oversold in a decade, with the tech giant ‘really losing the AI narrative’
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI capex and execution concerns: multiple reports highlight Microsoft’s very large AI spending (reports cite ~$30B per quarter-level scale), slowing Copilot adoption vs. expectations, and the stock is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 — pressuring valuations and near‑term sentiment. Microsoft Is Down 24% This Year While Spending $30B a Quarter on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks are rising: OpenAI and other AI firms (including reports of Anthropic eyeing an IPO) are evolving relationships and competition that could reduce Microsoft’s exclusive leverage in parts of the AI stack. Anthropic eyes IPO, Microsoft stock set for worst quarter since 2008

About Microsoft

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).