Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its Microsoft stake by 1.4% in Q4, selling 6,695 shares and now holds 462,485 shares valued at $223.67 million, about 6.1% of the fund's portfolio (its 6th largest position).
• Microsoft committed A$25B (~$18B) to expand Azure/AI capacity in Australia through 2029 and is offering voluntary buyouts to up to ~7% of U.S. staff as it ramps AI spending, moves that have spooked investors and prompted some analyst price‑target cuts.
• Insider activity: Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares at $397.35 while EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares at $409.52; institutional investors own ~71% of MSFT and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $575.34 target.

Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 462,485 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,695 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.1% of Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $223,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Finer Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 32,422 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares during the last quarter. Jericho Financial LLP raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Jericho Financial LLP now owns 17,105 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,272,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 38,516 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $18,627,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V2 Financial group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 129.8% in the 4th quarter. V2 Financial group LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major long‑term investment: Microsoft committed A$25B (~$18B) to expand Azure and AI capacity in Australia through 2029, supporting future cloud/Azure revenue and global infrastructure scale. Microsoft to invest $18 billion in Australia
• Positive Sentiment: Product and security strengthening: Microsoft is integrating advanced models (including Anthropic’s Mythos) into its security development lifecycle — a move that can reduce risk and improve enterprise trust in its AI offerings. Microsoft to integrate Anthropic's Mythos
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst: Microsoft reports fiscal Q3 earnings on April 29 — analysts and investors see the print as pivotal for clarity on AI monetization, Azure growth and near‑term margins. Prediction: Microsoft's April 29 Earnings...
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn leadership change: LinkedIn’s CEO transition (Daniel Shapero named) is operationally relevant but not a core driver of Microsoft’s AI/cloud thesis. LinkedIn names new CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Historic voluntary buyouts announced: Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement/buyout packages to up to ~7% of U.S. staff — the first program of this scale in its history. Investors view this as a signal of large reorganization and near‑term restructuring costs tied to a major AI pivot. Microsoft Targets About 7% of Its U.S. Workers With Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and cost concerns: Reports linking the buyout to massive AI spending (estimates in coverage range into the tens of billions to $100B+ scale) have spooked investors, prompting a sell‑off amid uncertainty over timing of returns on that spending. Microsoft Falls 4% as $110 Billion AI Bet Forces Historic Employee Buyout
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/price‑target pressure: Some shops trimmed targets or adopted cautious ratings as they weigh heavy near‑term AI investment against growth — adding to downside risk into earnings. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowers PT

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $575.34.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $393.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $451.84.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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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