Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Raised by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 25.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,189 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,045 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.2% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $85,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. IRON Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $403.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $440.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $481.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Huge, ongoing AI investments from Microsoft and peers underscore the company’s commitment to AI leadership and justify premium multiples for Azure and Copilot-related revenue growth. Microsoft and Alphabet Spend Billions On AI: A Closer Look
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s push into new data-center capacity (Michigan initiative) strengthens its ability to host AI workloads, reducing supply constraints and supporting future Azure/AI revenue. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Gains With New Charm Offensive for Data Centers in Michigan
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating, providing an analyst-level vote of confidence that can support buying interest after recent weakness. RBC Outperform Affirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and technical positioning show elevated trader interest and volatility—this can amplify moves but isn’t a clear directional catalyst on its own. Microsoft Stock Testing 2 Key Levels as Options Traders Pounce
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street pieces and commentators list MSFT among top large-cap AI/infra names to own—supportive long-term thesis but not an immediate catalyst. 2 Trillion-Dollar Stocks That Could Soar by 40% and 50%
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/video commentary highlights short-term SaaS volatility but sees Microsoft among rebound candidates—useful for traders, less so for long-term investors. SaaS-pocalypse Opportunities in MSFT, AMZN, PLTR, NOW & Others
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly building a code-repository to rival GitHub, which could erode a strategic Microsoft asset and developer ecosystem advantage if it gains traction. OpenAI is developing alternative to Microsoft’s GitHub
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing “Microslop”/Copilot Discord controversy and criticism that MSFT is underperforming YTD weigh on sentiment and could pressure multiples if developer trust or user adoption is impacted. ‘It’s Performing Worse,’ Says Investor About Microsoft Stock

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).