Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $85.56 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 25.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,189 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 33,045 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.2% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $85,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $403.93 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $440.17 and its 200 day moving average is $481.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Huge, ongoing AI investments from Microsoft and peers underscore the company’s commitment to AI leadership and justify premium multiples for Azure and Copilot-related revenue growth. Microsoft and Alphabet Spend Billions On AI: A Closer Look
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s push into new data-center capacity (Michigan initiative) strengthens its ability to host AI workloads, reducing supply constraints and supporting future Azure/AI revenue. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Gains With New Charm Offensive for Data Centers in Michigan
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating, providing an analyst-level vote of confidence that can support buying interest after recent weakness. RBC Outperform Affirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and technical positioning show elevated trader interest and volatility—this can amplify moves but isn’t a clear directional catalyst on its own. Microsoft Stock Testing 2 Key Levels as Options Traders Pounce
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street pieces and commentators list MSFT among top large-cap AI/infra names to own—supportive long-term thesis but not an immediate catalyst. 2 Trillion-Dollar Stocks That Could Soar by 40% and 50%
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/video commentary highlights short-term SaaS volatility but sees Microsoft among rebound candidates—useful for traders, less so for long-term investors. SaaS-pocalypse Opportunities in MSFT, AMZN, PLTR, NOW & Others
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly building a code-repository to rival GitHub, which could erode a strategic Microsoft asset and developer ecosystem advantage if it gains traction. OpenAI is developing alternative to Microsoft’s GitHub
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing “Microslop”/Copilot Discord controversy and criticism that MSFT is underperforming YTD weigh on sentiment and could pressure multiples if developer trust or user adoption is impacted. ‘It’s Performing Worse,’ Says Investor About Microsoft Stock

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This 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 through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).