Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Has $10.74 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,200 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 14,800 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.2% of Ardsley Advisory Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second 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. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to show strong long-term AI positioning, with articles noting robust AI revenue growth and that the company remains a compelling way to play the AI boom. Microsoft: Growth Outlook Still Robust Without OpenAI Exclusivity
• Positive Sentiment: New products and platform integrations, including Microsoft Advertising’s Media Marketplace launch partner Dstillery and Copilot-related AI updates, suggest ongoing monetization opportunities. Dstillery Brings Predictive AI Audiences to Microsoft Media Marketplace as Launch Partner
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argued Microsoft remains undervalued relative to its AI growth, but these were mostly opinion pieces rather than new business developments. Microsoft in 2026: Still the Smartest Way to Play the AI Boom?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal due to security issues weighed on shares and raised concern about AI infrastructure availability. Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure talks with Oracle collapse, Business Insider reports
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or reminded investors about class-action litigation tied to Microsoft’s Azure and AI disclosures, creating an added legal and reputational overhang. Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Encourages Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders To Inquire About Securities Fraud Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary turned more cautious, with several pieces warning that Microsoft’s valuation may already reflect much of the AI optimism and recommending investors sell rallies. Why This Analyst Is Telling Investors to Dump Microsoft Stock (MSFT)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.8%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $378.91 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $412.13 and its 200-day moving average is $426.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Microsoft 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).