Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Ardsley Advisory Partners LP

Key Points

• Ardsley Advisory Partners LP cut its Microsoft stake by 40% in the fourth quarter, selling 14,800 shares and leaving it with 22,200 shares worth about $10.7 million.
• Microsoft insiders also sold shares recently, including EVP Amy Coleman and CEO Judson Althoff, with total insider sales of 23,762 shares worth about $10.5 million over the last 90 days.
• Despite some caution around valuation and legal overhangs, analysts remain mostly bullish, with 41 Buy ratings, 6 Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $561.20; the company also beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter.

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,200 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 14,800 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.2% of Ardsley Advisory Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ARK & TLK Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Fischer Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to show strong long-term AI positioning, with articles noting robust AI revenue growth and that the company remains a compelling way to play the AI boom. Microsoft: Growth Outlook Still Robust Without OpenAI Exclusivity
• Positive Sentiment: New products and platform integrations, including Microsoft Advertising’s Media Marketplace launch partner Dstillery and Copilot-related AI updates, suggest ongoing monetization opportunities. Dstillery Brings Predictive AI Audiences to Microsoft Media Marketplace as Launch Partner
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argued Microsoft remains undervalued relative to its AI growth, but these were mostly opinion pieces rather than new business developments. Microsoft in 2026: Still the Smartest Way to Play the AI Boom?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal due to security issues weighed on shares and raised concern about AI infrastructure availability. Microsoft's cloud infrastructure talks with Oracle collapse, Business Insider reports
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or reminded investors about class-action litigation tied to Microsoft’s Azure and AI disclosures, creating an added legal and reputational overhang. Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Encourages Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders To Inquire About Securities Fraud Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary turned more cautious, with several pieces warning that Microsoft’s valuation may already reflect much of the AI optimism and recommending investors sell rallies. Why This Analyst Is Telling Investors to Dump Microsoft Stock (MSFT)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $378.91 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. 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 50-day moving average of $412.13 and a 200-day moving average of $426.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

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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