Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254,333 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,339 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.7% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $131,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,372,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% in the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares during the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Melius Research set a $430.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. HSBC cut their target price on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore reduced their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $395.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $427.46 and its 200-day moving average is $475.81.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 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 firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft’s Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

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).