Wedmont Private Capital Cuts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Wedmont Private Capital trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,319 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,417 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.9% of Wedmont Private Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $53,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BLVD Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure strength, strategic partnerships and select analyst bullishness support long?term upside: Microsoft’s cloud and AI backbone (Azure) remains a growth engine, and recent partnership news (AI + nuclear initiatives) and new datacenter expansions underline durable enterprise demand. Microsoft–Nvidia Nuclear Push Sparks ETF Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Support from big banks and some analysts: Bank of America reiterated bullish case (cites significant upside) and UBS kept a Buy rating even while trimming its target — these institutional views can stabilize demand for the stock. Bank of America Sees 30% Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Options flow shows some investors positioning for a rebound — elevated call buying can signal speculative optimism but doesn’t guarantee a directional move. Monitor open interest and strike concentration for conviction. Investors are Piling into Microsoft Call Options
• Neutral Sentiment: Market strategy pieces position MSFT as a defensive/quality tech holding — useful context for long?term investors, but not an immediate catalyst. A Q2 2026 Playbook for Navigating Market Uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI flagged its dependence on Microsoft as a material risk in fundraising documents — that reciprocal reliance raises execution risk and investor unease about the partnership’s durability. OpenAI Lists Dependence on Microsoft as a ‘Risk’
• Negative Sentiment: UBS and other outlets cite weak adoption/retention for Microsoft 365 Copilot and flagged narratives need to improve — that has driven price?target cuts and investor skepticism about near?term AI monetization. Microsoft 365, Copilot narratives need to improve for stock to move higher: UBS
• Negative Sentiment: Internal cost moves and execution signals: reports that Microsoft has paused hiring in major cloud and North American sales groups and is retooling HR raise concerns about near?term execution and signaling of tougher times ahead. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and sector sell?off: geopolitical risk and broad tech downdrafts have amplified MSFT’s decline (tech leadership stocks are breaking down), feeding momentum selling. Dow Jones Futures Rise On Trump Pause After ‘Serious’ Sell-Off

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $365.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $411.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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).