Wealthspire Advisors LLC Raises Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 67,789 shares to bring its total to 283,281 shares valued at about $137 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional interest, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 71.13% of the stock overall.
• The article highlights a mix of positives and concerns: strong Azure and Copilot momentum support the long-term case, but reports of possible Xbox restructuring, layoffs, and AI infrastructure spending pressure are weighing on near-term sentiment.

Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 31.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,281 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 67,789 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.1% of Wealthspire Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Wealthspire Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $137,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vistica Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Tillman Hartley LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Tillman Hartley LLC now owns 7,266 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Allianz SE now owns 323,841 shares of the software giant's stock worth $156,616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 221,500 shares of the software giant's stock worth $107,122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVRN Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,147,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. China Renaissance decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

Microsoft stock opened at $390.74 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $411.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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