Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management increased its stake in Microsoft by 8.6% in Q4, buying 17,188 shares to hold 217,686 shares worth about $105.28 million, making MSFT its 20th-largest position (≈1.1% of the fund).
• Microsoft reported strong Q3 results—$4.27 EPS vs. $4.04 expected and $82.89 billion revenue (up 18.3%)—while management highlighted accelerating Azure growth and over 20 million paid Copilot users, pointing to AI/cloud monetization momentum.
• Risks include a sharp rise in capex that pressures near-term margins, the OpenAI non‑exclusive distribution shift and workforce reductions that raise strategic/ROI questions, even as analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target near $563.72.

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,686 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 17,188 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.1% of Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $105,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 EPS beat and revenue roughly in line — Microsoft reported $4.27 EPS, ahead of consensus, and revenue near Street expectations, which helped validate the company’s growth trajectory. Microsoft (MSFT) Beats Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Azure / Intelligent Cloud acceleration: management said cloud growth accelerated (company commentary and charts show mid-to-high‑30s/40% growth in Azure), easing investor worries that AI spending isn’t yet translating to demand. Microsoft tops Wall Street expectations, reports accelerating Azure growth and $37B AI run rate
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot adoption and monetization showing traction — Microsoft reported over 20M paid Copilot users with rising engagement, supporting future software/recurring-revenue upside. Microsoft says it has over 20M paid Copilot users
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance roughly in line — Q4 revenue guidance was near consensus, so the company isn’t signaling an immediate downshift, but investors will watch next‑quarter detail for AI margin leverage. Press release / slide deck
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn AI products on revenue track — Microsoft said LinkedIn hiring agents could reach ~$450M in annual revenue, a niche but tangible AI monetization path. LinkedIn's AI hiring agents on track for $450 million
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx surge and margin pressure — disclosures and third‑party summaries show capex rose sharply (large spend on data centers/AI hardware), which squeezes near‑term margins and fuels investor concern about ROI timing. Q3 earnings: capex surges (Quiver)
• Negative Sentiment: Partnership & competitive noise — OpenAI’s revised terms (non‑exclusive distribution) and the broader partner shifts to rivals like Amazon raise strategic questions about Microsoft’s privileged access and cloud leverage. OpenAI-Microsoft exclusivity reset coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce and restructuring signals — Microsoft expects headcount to decline and has offered voluntary buyouts; that reduces near‑term payroll but underscores cost pressures tied to the AI buildout. Microsoft expects headcount to decrease

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $563.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.46 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $395.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.65. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.23. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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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