Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Lessened by VERITY Wealth Advisors

VERITY Wealth Advisors reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,279 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,951 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.9% of VERITY Wealth Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. VERITY Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BofA reinstated coverage with a Buy and a $500 price target, highlighting Azure and Copilot as drivers for multiyear upside. BofA Projects 31% Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Nvidia unveiled an AI partnership aimed at accelerating nuclear-energy design and operations — a potential new commercial use case that underscores enterprise AI tailwinds. Microsoft, Nvidia Team Up To Build AI-Powered Nuclear Energy Future
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership and HR changes (including the departure of Microsoft’s diversity chief and a wider HR reorganization) are underway — operationally important but with an unclear near-term impact on revenue. Microsoft’s diversity chief is leaving
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch reports this is MSFT’s worst quarter in 17 years, citing weak near-term trends in cloud and software that may not be quickly fixed — a primary driver of negative sentiment. Microsoft’s stock is having its worst quarter in 17 years
• Negative Sentiment: UBS trimmed its 12‑month price target (from $600 to $510), flagging investor scrutiny on M365 and Copilot monetization — a sign analysts see slower near-term upside even if long‑term views remain constructive. Microsoft price target lowered on M365, Copilot questions
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s investor document lists heavy reliance on Microsoft for financing and compute as a top risk — this disclosure increases perceived counterparty/partner concentration risk. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting Copilot retention/monetization issues and rising AI infrastructure spending suggests the stock will need clearer product traction or margin evidence to resume a sustainable rally. Microsoft Shows “Sense of Urgency,” But MSFT Stock Will Only Rally on This Condition

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5%

MSFT opened at $371.04 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $469.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. 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 cap of $2.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.97.

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).