Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Vaughan David Investments LLC IL

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,060 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 13,044 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.2% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $147,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd 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 period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 71.2% during the third quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $401.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $462.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.44.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 target price (down previously from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s massive $380B valuation highlights surging enterprise AI demand and validates Big Tech investments into advanced models; Microsoft participated in the funding round, which supports MSFT’s strategic AI ecosystem exposure and partnership optionality. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Azure migrations and a large RPO backlog remain a durable revenue engine beneath the AI noise—steady SQL/server migrations and enterprise deals offer recurring, high-margin cash flows that cushion near-term AI capex pain. Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype
• Positive Sentiment: Big infrastructure contracts (e.g., Microsoft deals referenced in infrastructure stories) and external financing for data-center partners de‑risk MSFT’s ability to scale cloud capacity without immediate revenue shortfall—supportive for long-term cloud adoption. IREN Bounces Back
• Positive Sentiment: Technicals and contrarian calls: some analysts and option-flow commentators view the post‑earnings selloff as a buying opportunity and charts show MSFT testing key support that could mark a base. That view can attract short-covering and value buyers. MSFT Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman’s prediction that many white‑collar tasks could be automated in 12–18 months generates headline interest—this can boost AI adoption expectations but also stokes regulatory & labor concerns; impact on near-term earnings is unclear. Microsoft AI Chief Mustafa Suleyman Says Most Professional Tasks Will Be Fully Automated
• Neutral Sentiment: Security: Microsoft deployed patches for actively exploited Windows/Office zero‑days—good for enterprise trust but the initial exploit headlines can be noisy for sentiment. Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs
• Negative Sentiment: Perception of underperformance vs. peers: headlines calling Microsoft the “worst‑performing hyperscaler” since ChatGPT (and public criticisms from prominent investors) are pressuring sentiment and driving headline selling. This is amplifying short‑term outflows. ‘Worst-Performing’ Hyperscaler
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional trimming and capex worries: several funds disclosed MSFT stake reductions and Street commentary highlights heavy AI capex that pressures free cash flow and prompted cautious guidance—this combination explains selling pressure and multiple compression. PRIMECAP Management Co cuts Microsoft stake Street Reassesses Microsoft Amid Azure Growth and Capex Concerns

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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).