Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,806 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.8% of Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $414.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $396.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $446.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Weiss Ratings lowered Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Bank of America began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.44.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent results and AI/cloud momentum: Microsoft reported another quarter of strong cloud and AI-driven revenue growth (Q3 revenue up ~18%) and continued order‑book strength — underpinning the bull case for durable top-line expansion. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst lift: Some firms have raised targets (Arete bumped its target sharply), signaling that a portion of Wall Street sees upside from MSFT’s AI investments despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox cost/strategy move: Xbox leadership stopped development of the console Copilot project — a move investors interpreted as removing a costly distraction and focusing resources on higher‑return AI/cloud work. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Government AI oversight: Microsoft agreed to give U.S. agencies early access to new models for national‑security testing — reduces regulatory uncertainty but also adds compliance scrutiny. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce buyouts announced: The company launched a major voluntary buyout program — lowers near‑term opex but risks losing institutional knowledge that could matter for complex AI projects. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Clean‑energy target under review: Reports say Microsoft may delay or abandon its hourly 2030 clean‑energy matching goal because rapid AI data‑center growth is increasing power demand — this raises potential operating costs, reputational risk and regulatory scrutiny. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher capex and margin pressure: Microsoft’s 2026 capex plan has risen sharply (reports ~23% above expectations, large multiyear AI/data‑center spending) — supports growth but increases near‑term cash outflows and could compress margins. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/regulatory headwinds: Pentagon awarded a $500M AI contract to a Meta‑backed Scale AI, and other competitors are landing meaningful deals — reminders that Microsoft faces fast‑moving competition for AI infrastructure and government business. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst notes and trims: Some boutiques trimmed price targets despite beats, reflecting concerns that the market is pricing in AI costs rather than returns; this keeps downward pressure from more cautious investors. Read More.

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).