Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Lifted by Riverwater Partners LLC

Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,016 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.5% of Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tandem Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tandem Financial LLC now owns 5,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,598,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 13,313 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,895,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 383,369 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $198,566,000 after purchasing an additional 69,680 shares during the period. Destiny Capital Corp CO bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 532,080 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $275,591,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reiterated a Buy on Microsoft, highlighting continued Copilot adoption and strong Azure growth as reasons the company can outpace the recent sell-off. Microsoft in focus as Citi reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares (~$2M), a behavioral vote of confidence that can help stabilize sentiment among retail/institutional investors. Microsoft Director John Stanton Buys 5,000 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s extended OpenAI revenue arrangement (locking a meaningful share of OpenAI output through 2032) is a multi-year revenue and strategic moat tailwind for AI monetization. As Microsoft extends 20% OpenAI deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a large long-term commitment to expand AI access in the Global South (reported ~$50B), a growth opportunity that also implies heavy multi-year capex and execution risk. Microsoft to invest $50B in Global South AI push
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships and marketplace traction (e.g., CrowdStrike on Microsoft Marketplace) reinforce enterprise ecosystem stickiness but have limited immediate revenue impact. Falcon on Microsoft Marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change in gaming: Phil Spencer’s immediate retirement and replacement by Asha Sharma introduces near-term uncertainty for Xbox strategy and investor confidence in the gaming unit. Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer retires
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel downgraded MSFT (Buy→Hold) and cut its price target, citing Azure supply constraints as a near-term growth headwind — a concrete analyst call that can pressure flows and justify further volatility. Stifel flags Azure supply constraints
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh AI quality/security reports (Copilot/Office bug and “AI recommendation poisoning” threats) raise short-term adoption and reputational risk that could delay enterprise deployments and weigh on sentiment. AI recommendation poisoning concerns

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $397.23 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $452.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $488.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid 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 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 price target (down previously from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on shares of 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 given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).