Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Cut by Hixon Zuercher LLC

Key Points

• Hixon Zuercher LLC trimmed its stake in Microsoft by 13.0% in Q4, selling 2,492 shares and leaving 16,659 shares valued at about $8.06 million (≈2.4% of the firm's portfolio and its 10th largest holding).
• Microsoft beat estimates in the latest quarter with $4.27 EPS versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion (up 18.3% year‑over‑year), driven by AI/cloud momentum that analysts see as supporting continued top‑line growth.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share (annualized $3.64, yield ~0.9%); the ex‑dividend date is May 21 and the payout date is June 11.

Hixon Zuercher LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,659 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,492 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.4% of Hixon Zuercher LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Hixon Zuercher LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $414.10 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $396.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $446.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent results and AI/cloud momentum: Microsoft reported another quarter of strong cloud and AI-driven revenue growth (Q3 revenue up ~18%) and continued order‑book strength — underpinning the bull case for durable top-line expansion. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst lift: Some firms have raised targets (Arete bumped its target sharply), signaling that a portion of Wall Street sees upside from MSFT’s AI investments despite the pullback. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox cost/strategy move: Xbox leadership stopped development of the console Copilot project — a move investors interpreted as removing a costly distraction and focusing resources on higher‑return AI/cloud work. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Government AI oversight: Microsoft agreed to give U.S. agencies early access to new models for national‑security testing — reduces regulatory uncertainty but also adds compliance scrutiny. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce buyouts announced: The company launched a major voluntary buyout program — lowers near‑term opex but risks losing institutional knowledge that could matter for complex AI projects. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Clean‑energy target under review: Reports say Microsoft may delay or abandon its hourly 2030 clean‑energy matching goal because rapid AI data‑center growth is increasing power demand — this raises potential operating costs, reputational risk and regulatory scrutiny. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher capex and margin pressure: Microsoft’s 2026 capex plan has risen sharply (reports ~23% above expectations, large multiyear AI/data‑center spending) — supports growth but increases near‑term cash outflows and could compress margins. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/regulatory headwinds: Pentagon awarded a $500M AI contract to a Meta‑backed Scale AI, and other competitors are landing meaningful deals — reminders that Microsoft faces fast‑moving competition for AI infrastructure and government business. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst notes and trims: Some boutiques trimmed price targets despite beats, reflecting concerns that the market is pricing in AI costs rather than returns; this keeps downward pressure from more cautious investors. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $562.44.

Microsoft Company 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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