Modera Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,486 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Modera Wealth Management trimmed its Microsoft stake by 1.9%, selling 7,486 shares and retaining 387,674 shares worth about $187.49 million (MSFT is ~2.2% of its holdings and its 10th largest position).
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share (ex-dividend May 21, payable June 11), equal to an annualized $3.64 and a yield of roughly 0.8%.
• Microsoft is embedding Anthropic’s Claude Mythos into its secure development lifecycle (a positive for AI-security) but faces headline legal risk after a U.K. tribunal ruled it must face a potential $2.8 billion cloud-license lawsuit, while analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target near $576.66.

Modera Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,674 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,486 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.2% of Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $187,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IRON Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% in the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,499,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $493,860,000 after buying an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft said it will embed Anthropic’s Claude Mythos into its secure development lifecycle (Project Glasswing) to find and mitigate vulnerabilities earlier — a move that strengthens Microsoft’s AI-security offering and underpins enterprise trust in Azure and dev tools. Microsoft to integrate Anthropic's Mythos into its security development program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing remains strong: KeyBanc reiterated an Overweight rating (with a $600 target) and other firms continue to publish high price targets, supporting upside expectations into earnings. Is Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) a Top AI Play on Azure Growth and Memory Supply Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft cut Xbox Game Pass prices (and reshaped Call of Duty access) to win back gamers — a consumer-facing move that may boost subscription growth and engagement, and has been received positively by the market. Microsoft cuts Game Pass subscription prices after new Xbox CEO promises to 'recommit' to gamers
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Microsoft’s push to be the “agentic AI internet” backbone — messaging that fuels investor optimism around Azure and platform monetization. “We Do Not Have Conflicting Interests….” Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Gains on New Plan to be the Agentic AI Internet’s Backbone
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn promoted longtime COO Daniel Shapero to CEO while Ryan Roslansky takes a broader Microsoft role — an orderly internal transition that reduces execution risk but is unlikely to move core financials in the near term. LinkedIn’s CEO is moving on; please hold your tearful video tributes
• Negative Sentiment: A U.K. tribunal ruled Microsoft must face a mass $2.8 billion lawsuit alleging overcharging on cloud licences — a large headline risk that could pressure sentiment and create legal/legal-cost uncertainty. Microsoft must face $2.8 billion UK lawsuit over cloud computing licences
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary (e.g., “Code Red” pieces) suggests some investors worry Microsoft is losing momentum in parts of the AI race — such narratives can amplify short-term selling pressure ahead of earnings. Microsoft’s Code Red Is Real: Can It Keep Up in the AI Race?

Microsoft Stock Up 2.1%

MSFT opened at $432.92 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $392.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $452.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given 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 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $576.66.

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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