1,381 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Sherman Wealth Management LLC

Sherman Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,381 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BWM Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. BWM Planning LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 13,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,763,000 after acquiring an additional 7,697 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,604 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 214,069 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $103,528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft pledged a major strategic buildout in Japan — a $10 billion, multi‑year plan to fund AI data centers, cybersecurity and workforce training with partners including SoftBank and Sakura Internet, underpinning long‑term cloud/A.I. revenue opportunities and local partnerships. Microsoft to invest $10 billion in Japan for AI and cyber defence expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out multiple proprietary AI models and signaled it will build frontier models in‑house — a strategic shift to reduce dependence on partners and capture more of the AI stack (product control, margins and IP). This supports the long‑term AI revenue thesis. Microsoft building its own high-powered AI models as it looks to slash dependence on OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Management says Copilot sales targets were met after changing the go‑to‑market approach (moving to paid/subscription rather than broad bundling), a sign of product monetization gaining traction. That helps offset concerns about adoption. Microsoft hits Copilot sales goals after strategy shift – Bloomberg
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage / and some street notes raised targets (coverage and a $675 price target were reported), providing analyst support that could lift sentiment if follow‑through occurs. Microsoft Charts $10 Billion of Outlays in AI-Eager Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced local partnerships and community programs (e.g., Victoria University datacenter academy) that support talent pipeline and social license for datacenter expansion — constructive but longer‑dated impact. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) Partners with Victoria University on Datacenter Community Pledge
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller ecosystem developments (Sakura Internet confirming talks, local partners’ stock moves) amplify the Japan story but are execution‑dependent; useful context for investors tracking regional rollout. SAKURA Internet Confirms Exploratory AI Cloud Collaboration Talks With Microsoft Japan
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly performance and commentary have disappointed some investors — headlines describe a Q1 “slide” and the worst quarterly drop since 2008 for MSFT, feeding the narrative of short‑term weakness and valuation re‑rating. That continues to pressure the stock. After Microsoft’s Q1 Slide, Are the Bulls Still On Board?
• Negative Sentiment: Several large funds / billionaires have trimmed MSFT positions in recent 13F disclosures (D.E. Shaw, Steve Cohen, Dan Loeb), signaling some institutional profit‑taking amid concerns over cloud supply constraints and guidance — a headwind for near‑term flows. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Billionaire Steve Cohen Trims Position
• Negative Sentiment: Security/product risks surfaced (reports on “AI recommendation poisoning”) and ongoing execution demands for in‑house frontier models add operational risk and could temper upside if issues emerge. AI Recommendation Poisoning: Why Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Is Fighting So Hard

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $373.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $400.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company 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).