Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Raised by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings raised its Microsoft stake by 5.7% to 450,150 shares (about 6.4% of its portfolio), valuing the position at approximately $217.7 million and making MSFT its second-largest holding.
• Microsoft posted an earnings beat (Q EPS $4.27 vs. $4.06, revenue $82.89B, +18.3% YoY) but the stock weakened afterward amid concerns over rising AI capex and mixed analyst adjustments; MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $556.00.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 450,150 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 24,124 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.4% of Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $217,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

MSFT stock opened at $413.62 on Tuesday. 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's 50 day moving average is $395.28 and its 200 day moving average is $447.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft moved Agent 365 out of preview to general availability, positioning itself as a leader in governance and security for enterprise AI agents — this improves MSFT's enterprise stickiness and could accelerate cloud/Copilot adoption. Microsoft takes Agent 365 out of preview
• Positive Sentiment: A small OpenClaw team is building "Project Lobster," an always-on assistant for knowledge workers inside Microsoft 365 — a product-led initiative that could expand Copilot-like monetization across Office workloads. Microsoft's OpenClaw team takes on the personal assistant challenge
• Positive Sentiment: Street support remains: Bernstein recently lifted its price objective and other analysts highlight large backlog growth and long-run upside, reinforcing a constructive view on MSFT's AI/cloud runway. Microsoft (MSFT): Most Promising AI Stock to Invest In
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner ecosystem traction: Microsoft is showing up in industry implementations (e.g., Medline’s Mpower supply‑chain solution built with Microsoft, and strong MSP adoption via Nerdio), which signals steady commercial demand but not immediate margin impact. Medline officially launches Mpower
• Negative Sentiment: Capital spending worries: analysts and commentators are flagging sharply higher AI capex (guidance for large GPU/infra spend and multiyear capex) and concerns about near-term capex ROI — a primary driver behind recent investor selling. Microsoft: Reasons To Be Concerned About Capex ROI
• Negative Sentiment: Post‑earnings weakness persists: the stock dropped after last week’s results as some investors parsed the spending outlook and backlog/momentum nuances, and commentators note the market reaction remains cautious. What can power Microsoft stock higher after earnings stumble?
• Negative Sentiment: Wider tech headwinds: hedge‑fund de‑risking of big tech and local data‑center/energy constraints (e.g., Denmark connection pauses) add macro and operational risk to MSFT’s hyperscale buildout. Hedge Funds Launch Biggest Tech Stock Pullback In Over 10 Years

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Microsoft from $610.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $556.00.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought 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 owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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