Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Raised by Waycross Partners LLC

Waycross Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,276 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,096 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 6.1% of Waycross Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $63,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,572 shares of company stock valued at $12,896,430 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI growth remain the main bullish drivers. Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for fiscal 2026, while fourth-quarter cloud growth accelerated to 43%. Microsoft also reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, both ahead of consensus estimates. Microsoft Azure Fiscal 2026 Sales Exceed $100B
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence is strengthening. Tigress Financial raised its Microsoft price target to $690, citing durable AI and cloud growth, while Goldman Sachs reportedly added Microsoft to its high-conviction list. Tigress Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its enterprise AI ecosystem through an A10 Networks warrant, a healthcare partnership with Assuta Medical Centers and deeper use of OpenAI models in GitHub Copilot. These developments could support AI adoption and recurring software demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI concentration is drawing investor attention. Reports suggest OpenAI may represent roughly 70% of Microsoft’s AI revenue, highlighting both the commercial value of the partnership and the risk of relying heavily on one customer and technology partner. OpenAI May Account for 70% of Microsoft’s AI Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are reassessing valuation after a sharp rally. Commentary increasingly describes Microsoft as potentially overvalued or technically extended, encouraging profit-taking despite strong fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and insider-selling headlines add pressure. Multiple law firms promoted a securities-fraud class action alleging misleading Copilot and Azure-related disclosures, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Separately, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares worth approximately $2.4 million, reducing his direct ownership by 10.13%.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces scrutiny over AI infrastructure spending, including more than $100 billion in future data-center lease commitments across Big Tech and potential optical-component supply constraints. These commitments could improve long-term capacity but raise concerns about capital intensity, execution and near-term margins.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $487.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $402.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.87.

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).