Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 8,828 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 389,632 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 8,828 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.3% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $188,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,740 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,194,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Aurdan Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Aurdan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,688 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,234,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 28,142 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,610,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,936 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,667,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keb Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 3,768 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research lifted their target price on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $392.00 price target (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $356.77 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $409.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued 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).