WCM Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

WCM Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,954,849 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 33,664 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.1% of WCM Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,005,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $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: Industry forecasts highlight large, multi‑year demand for industrial and enterprise digital tools — the connected‑worker market is projected to more than double by 2030, with Microsoft listed among the dominant vendors. That supports long‑term Azure/software monetization and IIoT growth expectations. Connected Worker Market Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: New initiatives and partnerships — including a SpaceX Starlink tie-up to extend Azure reach to underserved regions, a leadership reshuffle in gaming, and sustainability/rare‑earth efforts — underline Microsoft’s push to expand cloud footprint and enterprise reach. These moves can support revenue diversification in cloud and gaming. Gaming, Starlink & Azure Initiatives
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on MSFT, which can bolster investor confidence amid recent weakness. RBC Outperform Reaffirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and technical flows are active: reports show heavy options activity and MSFT testing key technical levels — this can amplify intraday moves and increase volatility, especially around earnings windows. Options Traders & Technical Levels
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market context: commentary suggesting renewed March momentum for U.S. equities could lift large-cap tech, which benefits Microsoft, but macro-driven rallies are not guaranteed. Market Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Share‑price weakness & relative underperformance: several pieces note MSFT is down materially year‑to‑date and underperforming peers, and the stock has declined since the last earnings report — a reminder that sentiment and multiple compression remain risks. Is MSFT in Trouble? (Fool) Down Since Earnings (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/operational noise: community furor around Copilot’s Discord (“Microslop”) creates PR distraction that could affect developer relations and adoption narratives if unresolved. Copilot Discord Furor
• Negative Sentiment: Execution & infrastructure constraints: coverage notes an electrician/skills shortage that could slow data‑center buildouts and raise costs for AI/cloud expansion — a potential medium‑term headwind to capacity growth. Data Center Labor Shortage

Microsoft Stock Up 1.5%

MSFT stock opened at $398.55 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $441.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, February 6th. New Street Research raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC dropped their target price on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

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).