Fortress Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 97.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,864 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,395 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.4% of Fortress Financial Solutions LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the software giant's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Prosperity Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $688,000. Diligent Investors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 22,199 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,736,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Coerente Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Coerente Capital Management now owns 112,598 shares of the software giant's stock worth $54,455,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Finally, Family Investment Center Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Family Investment Center Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the software giant's stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $424.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $395.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $448.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.23. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q3 EPS beat and revenue roughly in line — Microsoft reported $4.27 EPS, ahead of consensus, and revenue near Street expectations, which helped validate the company’s growth trajectory. Microsoft (MSFT) Beats Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
- Positive Sentiment: Azure / Intelligent Cloud acceleration: management said cloud growth accelerated (company commentary and charts show mid-to-high‑30s/40% growth in Azure), easing investor worries that AI spending isn’t yet translating to demand. Microsoft tops Wall Street expectations, reports accelerating Azure growth and $37B AI run rate
- Positive Sentiment: Copilot adoption and monetization showing traction — Microsoft reported over 20M paid Copilot users with rising engagement, supporting future software/recurring-revenue upside. Microsoft says it has over 20M paid Copilot users
- Neutral Sentiment: Guidance roughly in line — Q4 revenue guidance was near consensus, so the company isn’t signaling an immediate downshift, but investors will watch next‑quarter detail for AI margin leverage. Press release / slide deck
- Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn AI products on revenue track — Microsoft said LinkedIn hiring agents could reach ~$450M in annual revenue, a niche but tangible AI monetization path. LinkedIn's AI hiring agents on track for $450 million
- Negative Sentiment: CapEx surge and margin pressure — disclosures and third‑party summaries show capex rose sharply (large spend on data centers/AI hardware), which squeezes near‑term margins and fuels investor concern about ROI timing. Q3 earnings: capex surges (Quiver)
- Negative Sentiment: Partnership & competitive noise — OpenAI’s revised terms (non‑exclusive distribution) and the broader partner shifts to rivals like Amazon raise strategic questions about Microsoft’s privileged access and cloud leverage. OpenAI-Microsoft exclusivity reset coverage
- Negative Sentiment: Workforce and restructuring signals — Microsoft expects headcount to decline and has offered voluntary buyouts; that reduces near‑term payroll but underscores cost pressures tied to the AI buildout. Microsoft expects headcount to decrease
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $588.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $563.72.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Insider Activity
In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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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