Cloud Capital Management LLC Sells 1,637 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Cloud Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,271 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,637 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.6% of Cloud Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Cloud Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 10.2% in the third quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 71,172 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,864,000 after acquiring an additional 6,573 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,579.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 63,125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,696,000 after purchasing an additional 59,367 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.5% in the third quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.1% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 879,949 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $455,769,000 after buying an additional 57,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 55,416 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,703,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 price target (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research raised their price objective on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.0%

Microsoft stock opened at $400.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $447.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.30. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.08. 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 earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short-term AI worry eased after comments from Anthropic that tempered fears about AI displacing enterprise software, giving MSFT shares an immediate lift. Microsoft Stock Climbs After AI Fears Ease on Anthropic’s Comments
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its global connectivity push via a partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink (Orbital AI access), which supports Azure edge/sovereign-cloud use cases and broadens market reach in underserved regions. Microsoft and SpaceX’s Starlink partner on global community internet effort
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying and technical oversold signals were highlighted by market commentators, supporting a narrative that the recent pullback may be overdone and attracting value buyers. Microsoft Is Sliding—An Insider Buy and Oversold Signals Are Changing the Setup
• Positive Sentiment: The White House invited major cloud/AI players including Microsoft to a power-cost pledge, a policy development that could ease data‑center energy risk and improve investor confidence around operating costs. White House to host Big Tech in pledge to rein in power costs
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is among strategic backers of autonomous‑driving firm Wayve’s latest funding round — a signal of continued venture activity and ecosystem bets, but limited near‑term revenue impact. Nvidia, Microsoft back self-driving firm Wayve as it hits $8.6 billion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership changes in Xbox (Asha Sharma replacing Phil Spencer) tie gaming more directly to Microsoft’s AI/cloud strategy — strategically relevant but unlikely to move near-term financials materially. Microsoft Gaming Shift As Asha Sharma Reshapes Xbox And AI Role
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s Fair Trade Commission reportedly raided Microsoft Japan over suspected anti‑monopoly issues tied to Azure — a regulatory probe that could create legal costs, business disruption or reputational risk if escalated. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, Nikkei says
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile critics and media voices (e.g., Jim Cramer) called for a “refresh” at Microsoft, adding negative narrative pressure amid the stock’s selloff and keeping sentiment fragile. Microsoft (MSFT) Needs a Refresh, Says Jim Cramer
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry’s public accusation about aggressive accounting at big tech (including MSFT) can amplify worries about transparency and AI‑capex accounting, potentially weighing on sentiment if the narrative gains traction. Michael Burry Warns MSFT, GOOG, META Are Using ‘Sinister’ Accounting To Hide AI Costs

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).