Addenda Capital Inc. Sells 3,291 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Addenda Capital trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.5% in Q4, selling 3,291 shares and leaving it with 127,649 shares valued at about $61.73M, making MSFT its 12th largest holding (~2.2% of assets).
• Microsoft plans a roughly $18B investment in Australia to expand Azure AI supercomputing, cloud capacity and cybersecurity, and high‑profile buyers like Michael Burry have signaled renewed investor interest in the AI growth story.
• Analysts are mostly bullish (consensus " Moderate Buy" with an average target near $575), but concerns over heavy AI capex and a voluntary buyout program could raise near‑term volatility ahead of upcoming earnings.

Addenda Capital Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,649 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,291 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.2% of Addenda Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Addenda Capital Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $61,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a roughly $18B investment in Australia to expand Azure AI supercomputing, cloud capacity, cybersecurity and upskilling — a major long‑term revenue and capacity commitment that supports the AI growth narrative. Microsoft to invest $18B in Australia to expand AI, cloud and digital infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile investor Michael Burry disclosed a new long position in MSFT, signaling conviction from a value‑oriented, headline‑driving buyer — this can attract other investors looking for a contrarian entry. Big Short Investor Michael Burry Opens New Position in Microsoft Stock (MSFT)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat: Jefferies reaffirmed a Buy and other firms (Guggenheim, TD Cowen) have high price targets or bullish notes citing Copilot/Azure monetization, supporting upside sentiment into earnings. Jefferies gives a buy rating on Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Gaming/product signals: Xbox branding returned and leaked details of a cheaper Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition have lifted expectations for consumer engagement and subscription growth. Microsoft Gaming reverts to Xbox branding as part of new mission statement
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst: Microsoft reports fiscal Q3 results on April 29 — earnings will likely drive larger intraday moves as investors look for Azure growth, Copilot adoption and AI capex conversion. Microsoft Will Report Q3 Earnings on April 29
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Tech sector strength and broader AI‑led optimism are supporting MSFT alongside peers; short‑interest data in the feed is not meaningful (reported 0 shares). Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: Cost/structure concerns: Microsoft launched its first‑ever voluntary buyout program (~7% of U.S. workforce) as it reshapes for AI — while aimed at efficiency, the move and public discussion of heavy AI capex have pressured sentiment and raised near‑term uncertainty. Microsoft plans first voluntary employee buyout in company's 51-year history
• Negative Sentiment: Investor worry over AI capital intensity and OpenAI dependence persists in commentary and some sell‑side notes, which could keep volatility elevated into earnings despite long‑term upside. Microsoft Is A Value Trap, OpenAI Dependence Could Backfire

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $659.00 to $556.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $575.34.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.54 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $393.48 and its 200-day moving average is $450.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).

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