Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s 3rd Largest Position

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 183,358 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,019 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.0% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $94,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. IRON Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $398.55 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $441.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $482.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on MSFT, which reinforces buy-side sentiment and can support the stock after recent weakness. MarketScreener: RBC rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a Starlink partnership, a gaming leadership reshuffle (Asha Sharma named CEO of Microsoft Gaming) and expanded AI/data-center and sustainability initiatives — strategic moves that extend Azure reach and long-term cloud/AI revenue potential. Yahoo: Microsoft reshapes gaming and Azure
• Positive Sentiment: Macro and sector tailwinds: analysts point to rising enterprise software spending and a potential March market rally, which disproportionately helps large cloud/AI names like Microsoft. That supports expectations for continued revenue growth. Fool: enterprises spending more on AI software Zacks: March momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and technical action show heightened trading around key support/resistance levels — this can amplify short-term moves but doesn’t change fundamentals. Watch volume and option skew for clues on near-term direction. Schaeffers: options traders pounce
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysis notes MSFT is in the top decile of relative rankings but facing key resistance—this suggests upside may be capped until price clears those levels. Benzinga: technical analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Reputational/operational noise: a recent flare-up in the Copilot Discord required company attention; it hasn’t derailed momentum but is a reminder of product/community risk for AI rollouts. TipRanks: Copilot Discord furor
• Negative Sentiment: MSFT remains down materially from its highs and is ~7% lower since the last earnings release, highlighting investor skepticism about near-term growth and valuation pressure. That lingering post-earnings selloff continues to weigh on investor sentiment. Yahoo: MSFT down 7.3% since earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Industry headwind: a reported electrician shortage for AI data centers could limit near-term capacity expansion and raise costs for cloud providers, a potential operational constraint for Microsoft’s AI/data-center growth. Fortune: electrician shortage threatens AI buildout

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

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).