Fermata Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Fermata Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,482 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,361 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore named Microsoft a top software pick for 2026, citing enterprise software strength and AI exposure—boosts investor confidence in MSFT’s secular growth story. Microsoft, Salesforce Lead Evercore’s 2026 Picks
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish calls (Wedbush/Dan Ives and others) forecast a big AI-driven revenue bump in 2026 and reaffirm outperform ratings and lofty price targets, supporting upward pressure on the stock. Microsoft Stock Has 29% Upside in 2026, Says Dan Ives
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s internal dev move to standardize code (shifting priorities among languages) is being framed as productivity and engineering efficiency wins that can lower costs and speed product delivery. C Out, Rust In: Microsoft Stock Gains With New Code Standardization Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses arguing Microsoft could be a top AI beneficiary in 2026 (scale of Azure, Copilot integrations, data-center investment) underpin long-term upside expectations for enterprise cloud and AI revenue. Why Microsoft Could Be the Biggest AI Winner in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy change: DHS is replacing the H‑1B lottery with a weighted selection prioritizing higher-paid, skilled hires; Microsoft was a top recipient—this alters talent sourcing dynamics but the net impact on MSFT hiring/costs is ambiguous. Trump administration moves to overhaul H-1B visas
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector pieces positioning AI as the dominant 2026 investment theme keep Microsoft in investors’ watch lists but also raise expectations and scrutiny around capex and margin trade-offs. Three must-own stocks if AI spending will remain strong in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Execution concerns: reports that Satya Nadella pushed teams on Copilot progress and commentary that OpenAI ties may be a liability have raised questions about adoption, execution risk, and partnership complexity. These stories can pressure the stock despite bullish AI forecasts. Microsoft CEO Pushes Staff on Copilot Ambitions
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analysis warns of overbuilding (heavy AI capex) and OpenAI-related risks which could weigh on margins and capital intensity if revenue ramp is slower than expected. Microsoft: Not Immune To The Risk Of Overbuilding

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $486.85 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $498.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $503.53. 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 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Rothschild Redb lowered Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.03.

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).