Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ironwood Investment Counsel reduced its Microsoft stake by 1.8% in the first quarter, selling 1,542 shares and retaining 81,981 shares valued at approximately $30.35 million. Microsoft remains the fund’s third-largest holding and represents 4.4% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $558.64.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $3.64 and a 0.7% yield. Despite strong AI and Azure momentum, investors face risks from valuation concerns, AI-security scrutiny, litigation claims and substantial future infrastructure commitments.

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,981 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,542 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.4% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $400.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $405.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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 currently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. CLSA reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.64.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push
• Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction.
• Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate 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).

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