Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Northwest Capital Management Inc

Key Points

• Northwest Capital Management cut its Microsoft stake by 76.8% in Q4, selling 10,130 shares and leaving 3,062 shares (about 6.4% of its portfolio) valued at roughly $1.48M.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" (1 Strong Buy, 38 Buy, 7 Hold) and an average target price of $562.44, even as several firms adjusted their targets recently.
• Microsoft posted a strong quarter—EPS $4.27 vs. $4.06 expected and revenue $82.89B (+18.3% YoY)—and announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend (ex-dividend May 21), reinforcing momentum from AI/cloud results.

Northwest Capital Management Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 76.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,062 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 10,130 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.4% of Northwest Capital Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Northwest Capital Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark restated 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. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.44.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top analyst price‑target upgrades lift sentiment; one note cited ~60% upside to a new street‑high target, supporting buy interest. Microsoft Stock Lands a New Street‑High Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: An influential research shop lifted its price target materially (Arete to $870), signaling strong conviction that AI/cloud execution will drive long‑term upside. Arete Research Boosts Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results continue to show robust AI/cloud revenue growth and EPS beats, underpinning the bull case for durable top‑line momentum. Microsoft Q3 Revenues Jump 18% on AI & Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Fisher Asset Management and other funds have increased stakes, which can provide support to the stock. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox product pruning (Copilot discontinuation) trimmed consumer AI spend and was interpreted positively by some investors as discipline on unprofitable initiatives. Xbox Discontinues Copilot
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reaction is mixed: some firms trimmed targets but kept Buy ratings, reflecting split views on near‑term capex vs. long‑term AI growth. Here’s What the Street Thinks About Microsoft Post‑Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Big AI data‑center buildout is driving a large ($190B) capex guide and discussions about shelving Microsoft’s 2030 hourly clean‑energy match target — a potential ESG/regulatory and reputational headwind. Microsoft May Shelve 2030 Clean Energy Target
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain uneasy about the size and timing of AI spending; some analysts warn margin pressure and elevated capex could weigh on near‑term returns. Is Microsoft Stock an Undervalued Stock to Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Security concern: reports of a new hacker group exploiting Microsoft Teams add short‑term risk around remediation costs and customer confidence in collaboration tools. New Hacker Group Exploits Teams

Microsoft Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $420.93 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $396.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $445.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given 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 payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by 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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