Lodestone Wealth Management LLC Has $6.14 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Lodestone trimmed its Microsoft stake by 10.2% in Q4, now holding 12,697 shares worth $6.14 million, representing 2.5% of the firm's assets and its fourth-largest position.
• Contrasting insider activity: EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares for roughly $5.05 million (an 8.2% decrease in her stake) while Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares at about $397.35.
• Mixed market outlook: Analysts remain bullish on Azure and Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning, but short-term worries—Copilot execution, data‑center constraints and sector weakness—could pressure the stock ahead of Q3 earnings on April 29 and a $0.91 quarterly dividend payable June 11.

Lodestone Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,697 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,435 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.5% of Lodestone Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas analyst reiterates confidence that Azure can still “crush estimates” despite investor worries about $150B+ AI spending, arguing Microsoft is on a “war footing” (Copilot overhaul) that supports continued cloud revenue upside. Microsoft Azure Still Poised To Crush Estimates Despite $150 Billion Spending Fears: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis pieces argue recent sell‑off may be overdone — framing capex concerns as temporary and highlighting MSFT’s long‑term edge in agentic AI, custom silicon and enterprise suites. This supports the bull case for patient investors. Microsoft: Temporary CapEx Panic Masks The Long-Term Edge
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s ecosystem continues to show incremental wins—third‑party offerings landing in the Microsoft Marketplace and M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm) participating in industry deals—helping sustain commercial momentum. A2A Protocol / Marketplace Adoption
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI’s large‑scale monetization plans (reported ad revenue ambitions) could alter the AI market structure; MSFT’s exposure to OpenAI is material, but implications are mixed for Microsoft’s direct revenue and strategic posture. How OpenAI's Reported Ad Plans Could Change the AI Business Model
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft confirmed its Q3 earnings release date (April 29) — a near‑term catalyst that could amplify moves if results or guidance deviate from expectations. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Negative Sentiment: Product execution concerns surfaced as reports note Copilot UI changes and some institutional customers favoring Anthropic’s Claude — signs of competitive pressure and potential customer churn in AI assistant adoption. Microsoft's Copilot 'Feels Like Teams:' Why This Fund Manager Is Swapping It For Claude
• Negative Sentiment: Industry reports point to real‑world constraints (land, power, permits) forcing hyperscalers to delay or scrap data center projects — a direct challenge to MSFT’s ability to scale cloud capacity quickly without steep incremental costs. While Amazon, Microsoft, Google Struggle With AI On Land — China Looks To The Sea
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and sector weakness: new console sales data and broader software slump headlines have pressured MSFT shares alongside peers, and at least one large investor disclosed trimming a Microsoft stake. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft Stocks All Fall on New Video Game Console Sales Data

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $370.87 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $355.67 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $392.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $457.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities raised Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.26.

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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