Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Raised by Inscription Capital LLC

Inscription Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,651 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.7% of Inscription Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Inscription Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 155.7% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Arete Research boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

MSFT stock opened at $401.82 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $462.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.44. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business 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 business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s $30B Series G (valuing the company at $380B) included investments tied to Microsoft, underscoring continued enterprise demand for AI and reinforcing MSFT’s strategic positioning in the AI ecosystem. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion as Enterprise AI Demand Explodes
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft deepened its sovereign‑cloud and AI push via a Capgemini alliance, boosting Microsoft’s government and regulated-industry reach—a revenue and sticky‑customer positive for Azure and commercial cloud. Microsoft Deepens Sovereign Cloud And AI Push With Capgemini Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat argues Azure migrations (legacy SQL and enterprise workloads) are a steady, high‑margin growth engine that cushions AI capex volatility—important context for long‑term revenue stability. Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft issued security fixes for actively exploited Windows/Office zero‑day vulnerabilities—operationally positive because it reduces enterprise risk and supports trust in its OS/Office franchises. Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysts note MSFT may be bottoming at channel support after the pullback, suggesting a possible short‑term rebound if volume and patterns confirm. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional activity is mixed—some funds have trimmed MSFT exposure while others added shares—indicating diverging views among large holders rather than a consensus directional shift. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple bullish commentaries and analyst upgrades argue the post‑earnings sell‑off creates a buying opportunity, which could support the stock if macro sentiment improves. Buy Microsoft’s Falling Price Despite An Overvalued Macroeconomy
• Negative Sentiment: Street reports highlight investor concern that heavy AI capex and cautious Azure guidance will pressure margins and free cash flow—this remains the primary near‑term driver of the sell‑off. Street Reassesses Microsoft (MSFT) Amid Azure Growth and Capex Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: FT coverage notes shifts in OpenAI relationships and leadership at Anthropic plotting “self‑sufficiency,” highlighting competitive and strategic friction in Microsoft’s AI partnerships—adds uncertainty to the OpenAI‑centric part of MSFT’s narrative. Mustafa Suleyman plots AI ‘self-sufficiency’ as Microsoft loosens OpenAI ties
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile criticism (e.g., Chamath) that Microsoft has underperformed other hyperscalers since the ChatGPT era adds negative sentiment pressure and can amplify short‑term selling. Microsoft Is ‘Worst-Performing’ Hyperscaler Stock Since ChatGPT Launch, Chamath Palihapitiya Says

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).