Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lifted by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,842 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.9% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $49,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 155.7% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s sovereign-cloud collaboration with Capgemini and other partner wins are being highlighted by the market as validating recurring, enterprise cloud demand—supporting Azure’s long-term pipeline. Microsoft Stock Rises on Sovereign Cloud Collab
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft clarified Copilot user metrics after the quarter, which helped calm some investor uncertainty about adoption of its AI products. Microsoft Fills in Gaps on Copilot Numbers
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out fixes for actively exploited Windows/Office zero-day vulnerabilities—reducing regulatory and security risk for enterprise customers. Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs
• Positive Sentiment: R&D/infra progress: Microsoft is exploring superconducting power lines to make data centers more energy-efficient, a potential long-term cost and sustainability advantage for its capex-heavy buildout. Microsoft exploring using advanced power lines
• Positive Sentiment: Partner ecosystem momentum: ESW’s MissionReady365 and FPT’s inclusion in Gartner’s Microsoft 365 services guide reflect ongoing third‑party demand and channel depth for Microsoft 365/Azure services. ESW Launches MissionReady365 FPT Recognized in Gartner Market Guide
• Positive Sentiment: Large investors: Fisher Asset Management and Crake Asset Management reported sizeable increases in MSFT holdings, signaling institutional conviction among some managers. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake Crake Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish commentaries argue MSFT is a structural winner in software and cloud consolidation, framing recent weakness as a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. If Software Is Dead, Microsoft Wins
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector notes: Strategists flag the software pullback as a potential rebound trade; quantum and AI narratives are cited as multi-year upside but carry execution uncertainty. AI disruption fears create buying chance Quantum Hype vs. Profits
• Negative Sentiment: Primary sell pressure: investors are spooked by a deceleration in Azure growth and conservative guidance tied to heavy AI capex, which is the main reason MSFT traded down after earnings. Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and investor pullbacks: Melius downgrade and several institutional trims (Morningstar, Vulcan, smaller SCS sale) signal near‑term skepticism about margin pressure and capex discipline. Stock Slips on Melius Downgrade Morningstar Cuts Microsoft Position
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: post‑earnings volatility and the stock’s YTD decline reflect investor repricing for the near‑term hit to free cash flow and margins from AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft is Bouncing Back from Its Post-Earnings Price Crash

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $404.37 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $463.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Arete Research raised their target price on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $655.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

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).