Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Decreased by Fulcrum Asset Management LLP

Key Points

• Fulcrum Asset Management trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.7%, selling 1,626 shares to hold 58,555 shares valued at $30.33 million, making MSFT about 8.4% of its portfolio and its second-largest holding.
• Recent company developments are mixed: partner wins and Copilot/Fabric integrations support Azure monetization, but a potential Amazon–OpenAI cloud deal and security incidents pose strategic and remediation risks, even as analysts trimmed targets while the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $591.87 price target.

Fulcrum Asset Management LLP trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,555 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,626 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 8.4% of Fulcrum Asset Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IRON Financial LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,816,000 after buying an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product/partnership wins that support Azure and Copilot monetization—Microsoft announced integrations and partner expansions that help drive enterprise adoption of Copilot and Fabric, which support long-term revenue growth. What Microsoft (MSFT)'s Lumel-Fabric Integration Means For Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a collaboration to embed “agentic” security and resilience into managed detection and response using Microsoft technology—this strengthens enterprise security demand for Azure and security services. Accenture Collaborates with Microsoft to Bring Agentic Security and Business Resilience to the Front Lines of Cyber Defense
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is consolidating its Copilot/AI teams and hiring small AI startups (e.g., Cove team) to accelerate product development—moves aimed at simplifying offerings and catching up on model capabilities. These steps support product focus and future monetization. Microsoft Unifies AI Division To End Copilot Confusion, Boost Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Channel and partner activity continues (Expedience, Insentra, others joining Microsoft programs), which is constructive but incremental for top-line growth. Expedience Software Joins Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program to Deliver Copilot-Powered Proposal Automation in Microsoft Word
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary is mixed: some outlets pitch a buy-the-dip case while others highlight heavy capex and infrastructure costs—this fuels volatility but not an immediate fundamentals shock. Microsoft Stock Has Been Absolutely Slammed This Year. Is It Finally Time to Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Potential legal conflict with Amazon/OpenAI: reports say Microsoft is weighing legal action over a reported Amazon–OpenAI cloud deal that could undermine Microsoft’s long-held OpenAI exclusivity—this is a major strategic risk to Azure AI differentiation and revenue. US agency asks companies to secure Microsoft tool after Stryker cyberattack
• Negative Sentiment: Security incidents and guidance: a recent medical‑device cyberattack tied to Microsoft endpoint tools prompted U.S. agencies to warn companies to harden those tools; separate reports flag SharePoint as an attack vector—these raise near‑term risk and potential remediation costs. US agency asks companies to secure Microsoft tool after Stryker cyberattack
• Negative Sentiment: Management & product headwinds: leadership reassignments and criticism about product competitiveness (Suleyman reassigned, debate over model quality) add execution uncertainty while investors fret over rising infrastructure costs driving margin pressure. “World-Class Models”: Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Drops as Suleyman Reassigned

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $389.02 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $420.80 and a 200 day moving average of $473.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $600.00 price target (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $591.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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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