Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Northside Capital Management LLC

Northside Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,897 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 11,110 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.2% of Northside Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Northside Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 77,603 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $37,530,000 after buying an additional 7,840 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 170,553 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $82,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,355 shares in the last quarter. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,425 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,427,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 14,955 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 33,223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.97.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterates conviction and sees roughly 30% upside for MSFT, reinforcing a bullish institutional view that supports longer-term buying interest. Bank of America Sees 30% Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and options traders are piling into MSFT call options, signaling speculative bullish positioning that can amplify rallies on positive headlines. Investors Piling into Microsoft Call Options
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic wins — Microsoft teaming with NVIDIA on AI-for-nuclear projects and continuing datacenter expansion (new Denmark region) underline durable demand for Azure and AI infrastructure, supporting long-term growth narrative. Microsoft–Nvidia Nuclear Push Sparks ETF Opportunity Microsoft Opens New Datacenter Region In Denmark
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal HR retooling and leadership departures (diversity chief exit) are drawing attention but are mainly organizational items; they create short-term uncertainty around execution rather than direct revenue risk. Microsoft HR Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft has frozen hiring in major cloud and North American sales groups — a signal of cost control and potential growth recalibration that spooks investors focused on Azure momentum. Microsoft Freezes Hiring in Major Cloud, Sales Groups
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism and product execution concerns: UBS and others cut price targets or warn that Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption is weaker than hoped — this is the core near-term catalyst dragging multiples lower. Price Target Lowered on M365, Copilot Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and narrative risk from OpenAI disclosures and media coverage of a prolonged pullback (MSFT down sharply from peak, nearing 52‑week low) are increasing investor caution and volatility. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’ MSFT Nears One-Year Low
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s broader market selloff — amplified by geopolitical (Iran) comments that pushed oil higher — is pressuring large-cap tech, contributing to MSFT’s decline independent of company fundamentals. Dow Jones Futures: Market Dives on Geopolitical Comments

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $365.97 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $411.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $468.63. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

About Microsoft

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).