Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 643,106 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 14,993 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.2% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $311,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 87,535 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,334,000 after buying an additional 2,384 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,634 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,014,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Clear Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,289,000. Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 232,339 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $112,364,000 after acquiring an additional 5,828 shares during the period. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,269 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street analysts still see large upside for MSFT, arguing the pullback may be overdone and presenting a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. Wall Street Says Microsoft Stock Has 89% Rebound Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental revenue drivers remain: LinkedIn ad growth and marketing solutions are cited as near‑term revenue positives that help offset AI spending concerns. Microsoft Benefits From LinkedIn Ad Growth: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has implemented targeted hiring freezes in major cloud and North American sales groups while keeping AI and engineering hiring active — a cost‑management move that highlights prioritization of AI infrastructure but leaves uncertainty over near‑term sales execution. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups, The Information reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion continues: third‑party partner Crusoe announced a 900 MW AI campus in Abilene, Texas to support large‑scale workloads for Microsoft — this reinforces demand for hyperscale capacity even as investors debate ROI timing. Crusoe Announces New 900 MW AI Factory Campus in Abilene, Texas to Support Microsoft AI Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative has flipped: analysts and commentary say Microsoft is “losing the AI narrative,” and technical indicators show the stock at decade‑low oversold levels — fueling momentum selling. Microsoft’s stock hasn’t been this oversold in a decade, with the tech giant ‘really losing the AI narrative’
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI capex and execution concerns: multiple reports highlight Microsoft’s very large AI spending (reports cite ~$30B per quarter-level scale), slowing Copilot adoption vs. expectations, and the stock is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 — pressuring valuations and near‑term sentiment. Microsoft Is Down 24% This Year While Spending $30B a Quarter on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks are rising: OpenAI and other AI firms (including reports of Anthropic eyeing an IPO) are evolving relationships and competition that could reduce Microsoft’s exclusive leverage in parts of the AI stack. Anthropic eyes IPO, Microsoft stock set for worst quarter since 2008

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. HSBC cut their price target on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” 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-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $356.77 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $409.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.20. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $3.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft Company 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).