Private Advisory Group LLC Sells 21,665 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Private Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,987 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 21,665 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 6.0% of Private Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $76,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. boosted 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 boosted 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 position in Microsoft by 2.9% during 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 during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $374.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $394.50 and its 200-day moving average is $459.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $353.10 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analyst support and bullish research are drawing buyers — major firms (including Goldman and other brokers) are highlighting MSFT as a rebound candidate and publishing price targets well above current levels, which helps underpin today’s rally. Goldman sees rebound for Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Product and partnership catalysts: Microsoft’s Agent 365 platform is moving to GA with launch partners (supporting enterprise governance for AI agents), and the company is expanding commercial AI tie-ups — tangible signs of enterprise monetization for Copilot/agent products. Reply selected as Microsoft Agent 365 launch partner
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer/PR boost from gaming: fresh details on Forza Horizon 6 and other Xbox updates have driven short‑term positive momentum for MSFT shares tied to Xbox/Xbox Game Pass engagement. Forza Horizon 6 details lift MSFT stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings schedule set — Microsoft will report FY2026 Q3 after the close on April 29; the date focuses attention on Azure growth, backlog metrics and free‑cash‑flow cadence at month‑end. Quarterly earnings release date announced
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner/partner‑ecosystem wins (Azure specializations, platform connectors) keep enterprise pipeline healthy but are incremental to revenue near term. Centrilogic earns Azure specialization
• Negative Sentiment: Executive turnover: another senior departure and the planned retirement of longtime exec Julia Liuson raise governance and continuity questions for developer tools and platform strategy; exits can sap sentiment until leadership transitions settle. Julia Liuson to retire Another senior departure at Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: AI capex and Copilot adoption concerns continue to weigh: investors remain worried about rising infrastructure spend, slower-than-expected Copilot monetization and whether those costs will compress near‑term margins. That narrative has driven much of the stock’s recent re‑rating. Why MSFT stock has been shredded
• Negative Sentiment: Security and legal noise: reports of a developer account lock affecting VeraCrypt updates and an amended lawsuit filing referencing Microsoft add episodic risk that can amplify short‑term volatility. VeraCrypt account termination / Windows update disruption reports

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).