Synergy Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Synergy Asset Management cut its Microsoft stake by 72.2% in Q4, selling 445,876 shares and leaving 171,715 shares worth about $83.05 million — Microsoft represents roughly 8.6% of the firm's portfolio and is its largest holding.
• Other major institutions mostly raised positions (Vanguard, State Street, Geode, Northern Trust among them), but some large funds have trimmed MSFT too, leaving overall institutional ownership at about 71.13%, signalling mixed flows into the stock.
• Insider moves were small and mixed (EVP Kathleen Hogan sold 12,321 shares while Director John Stanton bought 5,000), and analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a ~$588.97 price target; Microsoft also declared a $0.91 quarterly dividend.

Synergy Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 72.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,715 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 445,876 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 8.6% of Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $83,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant's stock worth $350,712,742,000 after purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Phillip Securities raised Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $373.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $400.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft pledged a major strategic buildout in Japan — a $10 billion, multi‑year plan to fund AI data centers, cybersecurity and workforce training with partners including SoftBank and Sakura Internet, underpinning long‑term cloud/A.I. revenue opportunities and local partnerships. Microsoft to invest $10 billion in Japan for AI and cyber defence expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out multiple proprietary AI models and signaled it will build frontier models in‑house — a strategic shift to reduce dependence on partners and capture more of the AI stack (product control, margins and IP). This supports the long‑term AI revenue thesis. Microsoft building its own high-powered AI models as it looks to slash dependence on OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Management says Copilot sales targets were met after changing the go‑to‑market approach (moving to paid/subscription rather than broad bundling), a sign of product monetization gaining traction. That helps offset concerns about adoption. Microsoft hits Copilot sales goals after strategy shift - Bloomberg
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage / and some street notes raised targets (coverage and a $675 price target were reported), providing analyst support that could lift sentiment if follow‑through occurs. Microsoft Charts $10 Billion of Outlays in AI-Eager Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced local partnerships and community programs (e.g., Victoria University datacenter academy) that support talent pipeline and social license for datacenter expansion — constructive but longer‑dated impact. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) Partners with Victoria University on Datacenter Community Pledge
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller ecosystem developments (Sakura Internet confirming talks, local partners’ stock moves) amplify the Japan story but are execution‑dependent; useful context for investors tracking regional rollout. SAKURA Internet Confirms Exploratory AI Cloud Collaboration Talks With Microsoft Japan
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly performance and commentary have disappointed some investors — headlines describe a Q1 "slide" and the worst quarterly drop since 2008 for MSFT, feeding the narrative of short‑term weakness and valuation re‑rating. That continues to pressure the stock. After Microsoft’s Q1 Slide, Are the Bulls Still On Board?
• Negative Sentiment: Several large funds / billionaires have trimmed MSFT positions in recent 13F disclosures (D.E. Shaw, Steve Cohen, Dan Loeb), signaling some institutional profit‑taking amid concerns over cloud supply constraints and guidance — a headwind for near‑term flows. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Billionaire Steve Cohen Trims Position
• Negative Sentiment: Security/product risks surfaced (reports on "AI recommendation poisoning") and ongoing execution demands for in‑house frontier models add operational risk and could temper upside if issues emerge. AI Recommendation Poisoning: Why Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT Is Fighting So Hard

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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