Root Financial Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 15.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,962 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.9% of Root Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s $30B Series G (valuing the company at $380B) included investments tied to Microsoft, underscoring continued enterprise demand for AI and reinforcing MSFT’s strategic positioning in the AI ecosystem. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion as Enterprise AI Demand Explodes
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft deepened its sovereign‑cloud and AI push via a Capgemini alliance, boosting Microsoft’s government and regulated-industry reach—a revenue and sticky‑customer positive for Azure and commercial cloud. Microsoft Deepens Sovereign Cloud And AI Push With Capgemini Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat argues Azure migrations (legacy SQL and enterprise workloads) are a steady, high‑margin growth engine that cushions AI capex volatility—important context for long‑term revenue stability. Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft issued security fixes for actively exploited Windows/Office zero‑day vulnerabilities—operationally positive because it reduces enterprise risk and supports trust in its OS/Office franchises. Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysts note MSFT may be bottoming at channel support after the pullback, suggesting a possible short‑term rebound if volume and patterns confirm. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional activity is mixed—some funds have trimmed MSFT exposure while others added shares—indicating diverging views among large holders rather than a consensus directional shift. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple bullish commentaries and analyst upgrades argue the post‑earnings sell‑off creates a buying opportunity, which could support the stock if macro sentiment improves. Buy Microsoft’s Falling Price Despite An Overvalued Macroeconomy
• Negative Sentiment: Street reports highlight investor concern that heavy AI capex and cautious Azure guidance will pressure margins and free cash flow—this remains the primary near‑term driver of the sell‑off. Street Reassesses Microsoft (MSFT) Amid Azure Growth and Capex Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: FT coverage notes shifts in OpenAI relationships and leadership at Anthropic plotting “self‑sufficiency,” highlighting competitive and strategic friction in Microsoft’s AI partnerships—adds uncertainty to the OpenAI‑centric part of MSFT’s narrative. Mustafa Suleyman plots AI ‘self-sufficiency’ as Microsoft loosens OpenAI ties
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile criticism (e.g., Chamath) that Microsoft has underperformed other hyperscalers since the ChatGPT era adds negative sentiment pressure and can amplify short‑term selling. Microsoft Is ‘Worst-Performing’ Hyperscaler Stock Since ChatGPT Launch, Chamath Palihapitiya Says

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Evercore decreased their price target on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $401.82 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month 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 company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $462.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.44.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

About Microsoft

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).