Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is World Equity Group Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

World Equity Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,223 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,116 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.9% of World Equity Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IRON Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Wellington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $9,941,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $828,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

Microsoft stock opened at $369.37 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $404.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.55.

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 firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Exclusive power deal with Chevron and Engine No. 1 to supply a large West Texas gas‑fired plant (roughly 2.5 GW, ~$7B project) should de‑risk long‑term energy supply for Microsoft’s planned AI data‑center campus — easing a key bottleneck for capacity growth. Microsoft, Chevron and Engine No. 1 sign exclusive deal for power supply
• Positive Sentiment: Big Asia infrastructure commitments — Microsoft is on track to invest ~$5.5B in Singapore through 2029 and over $1B in Thailand — that expand Azure/AI capacity and reinforce long‑term revenue visibility from cloud and enterprise AI. Microsoft on track to invest $5.5 billion in Singapore by 2029
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s massive fundraising round strengthens the ecosystem around Microsoft (strategic partner and investor), which could accelerate enterprise AI adoption that benefits Azure, Copilot and premium services. OpenAI Raises $122 Billion in Funding Round
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support has picked up: Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy ($450 target) and other shops (including New Street) raised or reiterated bullish targets — these votes of confidence can draw dip buyers and support a technical rebound. Benchmark initiates Microsoft at Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Small IP/branding acquisition: ActiveOps sold WorkiQ trademarks to Microsoft for $10M — bolsters workforce/observability tooling but is not material to macro outlook. ActiveOps Sells WorkiQ Trademarks to Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Organizational reshuffle and repositioning of commercial/consumer AI units aim to improve execution on Copilot and enterprise AI sales — important operationally but recovery depends on measurable revenue/margin impact. Org chart shuffles draw attention
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/earnings worries: MSFT just posted its steepest quarterly price decline since 2008 and investors are questioning the ROI on heavy AI capex and the pace of Copilot adoption — that sentiment drove the recent selloff and sustained volatility. Microsoft closes worst quarter since 2008
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: U.K. competition authorities have opened a probe into Microsoft’s business‑software licensing in the cloud, which could lead to remedies, higher compliance costs or product changes. UK to launch antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software
• Negative Sentiment: Some large funds have trimmed positions and technicals show material damage (breaks below long‑run moving averages), which raises the risk of further near‑term downside until sentiment stabilizes. Opinions on breaching 200-week moving average

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

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).