Farley Capital L.P. Has $21.94 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Farley Capital L.P. lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,349 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 9,033 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 15.8% of Farley Capital L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Farley Capital L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is doubling down on a multi?model AI strategy and deeper Anthropic integration (Copilot Cowork / Claude) that should boost Azure consumption and enterprise Copilot seat revenue. Microsoft aims to be multi-model: Exec talks Anthropic AI team-up
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a higher?priced M365 “Frontier” / E7 $99 AI subscription and other enterprise AI bundles—moves that can lift ARPU, accelerate Copilot adoption and create stickier recurring revenue. Microsoft unveils $99 ‘Frontier’ AI subscription
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other sell?side firms remain constructive (Buy/Outperform and elevated price targets), supporting longer?term upside narratives tied to Azure and Copilot monetization. Here’s What Jefferies Think About Microsoft (MSFT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is in talks to lease a Texas AI data?center site (after Oracle shelved plans) — an operational step toward capacity growth but with timing/costs still uncertain. Microsoft in talks to lease Texas AI data center site
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft said it will ship a prototype of the next Xbox to developers in 2027 (AMD silicon, improved ray tracing) — positive for long?term gaming revenue but not an immediate earnings driver. Microsoft plans to ship prototype of next Xbox console to developers in 2027
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risk: Microsoft filed an amicus brief backing Anthropic in its suit to block the Pentagon’s supply?chain designation — this preserves product access and Azure revenue but raises political and compliance exposure that could create near?term uncertainty. Microsoft files amicus brief in support of Anthropic’s lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Growing bearish positioning and insider activity: short interest jumped materially in late Feb and an EVP disclosed a multi?million?dollar share sale — both can amplify downside momentum in volatile sessions. SEC Form 4 — Kathleen T. Hogan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk: market strategists are warning of mid?March seasonality, geopolitical tensions (Middle East) and heightened volatility — factors that tend to hit large tech names and can pressure multiples. Market Crash Warning? Wall Street Veteran Says Mid-March Could Mark a Turning Point

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $404.88 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $430.65 and a 200 day moving average of $477.49.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. 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 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

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).