Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Barton Investment Management

Barton Investment Management cut its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,461 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.3% of Barton Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Barton Investment Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 757 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 102,628 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $49,633,000 after purchasing an additional 18,885 shares during the last quarter. StrongBox Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. StrongBox Wealth LLC now owns 21,593 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,077 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $51,785,000 after purchasing an additional 7,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantra Family Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. now owns 10,894 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $610.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. New Street Research lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $576.66.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $424.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $392.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $452.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI (backed by Microsoft) launched ChatGPT Images 2.0 — improvements to OpenAI’s image capabilities strengthen the product ecosystem that Microsoft leverages via its OpenAI partnership and Azure hosting, supporting longer-term AI revenue opportunities. OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Images 2.0 – Here’s What You Need to KnowArticle
• Positive Sentiment: Large enterprise deals deepen Azure and Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption — a five-year collaboration with Stellantis and industrial showcases at Hannover Messe (and Accenture partnerships) signal expanding, sticky enterprise AI workflows that drive cloud consumption and services revenue. Microsoft Deepens Industrial AI Role With Stellantis And Hannover Messe DealsArticle
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture’s agentic factory system debuts with Microsoft integrations — another indicator of enterprise traction for Azure-based AI platforms and professional services monetization. Accenture’s New Agentic Factory System Debuts With MicrosoftArticle
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor chatter and analysts expect a rebound into earnings: social-media buzz and many buy ratings highlight Azure growth and AI backlog optimism ahead of Microsoft’s April 29 report — but the stock has drawn intense debate about valuation and execution. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Opinions on Rebound Ahead of EarningsArticle
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox Game Pass price cut — the new Xbox leadership is trimming subscription prices to boost engagement; could lift user growth and retention but may compress near-term gaming revenue/margins. Microsoft cuts Game Pass subscription prices after new Xbox CEO promises to ‘recommit’ to gamersArticle
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup trimmed its MSFT price target from $635 to $600 but kept a buy rating — a reminder that analyst targets are being adjusted while consensus remains constructive (median targets still well above current levels). Finviz — Citigroup price target noteArticle
• Negative Sentiment: U.K. tribunal ruled Microsoft must face a £2.1B (~$2.8B) mass lawsuit alleging overcharging for Windows Server licenses on rival clouds — a sizeable litigation risk that could lead to material settlements and heightened regulatory/legal scrutiny. Microsoft must face $2.8 billion UK lawsuit over cloud computing licencesArticle
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis piece flags scrutiny of Microsoft’s AI investments and capital intensity — investors may worry about the pace, returns and governance of large AI capex and partnerships, which can pressure near-term margins and share performance. Microsoft AI Investments Face ScrutinyArticle

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).