Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,276 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,441 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.7% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 8,947 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,634,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the third quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 23,292 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,064,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,201 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,765,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.5% during the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 13,922 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.7% in the third quarter. Harbor Group Inc. now owns 2,001 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile bullish analyst coverage and “breakout” 2026 thesis that support upside for MSFT and long‑term AI monetization. Why Analysts See 2026 as a Breakout Year for Microsoft Stock (MSFT)
• Positive Sentiment: Firm bullish pieces arguing Microsoft is positioned for strong AI‑driven growth (OpenAI stake + Azure momentum), which supports a buy‑and‑hold case. Microsoft Positioned For Strong Growth
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Microsoft’s entrenched enterprise moat and high switching costs — a defensive argument underpinning revenue durability and premium multiples. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away
• Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion on “3 cloud stocks to buy” lists (alongside AMZN/GOOGL) reinforces Microsoft’s exposure to a potential cloud/AI cycle but is broad‑market, not MSFT‑specific. 3 Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy Before 2026 as Digital Demand Soars
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — some analysts argue MSFT is a “compounder at any price,” others recommend accumulating slowly due to rich multiples and heavy capex; this is keeping some investors on the sidelines. Microsoft Faces a Key Question: Compounder at Any Price or Accumulate Slowly
• Neutral Sentiment: Options “whale” activity shows large positioning in MSFT — could signal directional conviction but not definitive on sentiment. Monitor flows for confirmation. Check Out What Whales Are Doing With MSFT
• Negative Sentiment: NVIDIA’s $20B Groq deal strengthens a competitor’s inference‑speed lead — a direct long‑term threat to Azure/AI hosting economics as inference demand grows; this likely weighs on MSFT sentiment today. NVIDIA’s $20B Groq Deal Is a Warning Shot to AI Rivals (MSFT)
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns about Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI and Copilot adoption (reports that drove a recent pullback) are pressuring sentiment — execution and partner dynamics are key near‑term risks. Microsoft (MSFT) Fell Due to Concerns About Its Relationship With OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting the stock looks “pricey” and that heavy data‑center capex could pressure margins/returns in the near term — a valuation headwind for momentum investors. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $487.71 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $497.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $503.86.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.03.

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).