Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 2,222 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,323 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,222 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.2% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $72,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.6% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.6% during the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the second quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $457,119,000 after acquiring an additional 33,382 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 285,163 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,700,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.03.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile bullish analyst coverage and “breakout” 2026 thesis that support upside for MSFT and long‑term AI monetization. Why Analysts See 2026 as a Breakout Year for Microsoft Stock (MSFT)
• Positive Sentiment: Firm bullish pieces arguing Microsoft is positioned for strong AI‑driven growth (OpenAI stake + Azure momentum), which supports a buy‑and‑hold case. Microsoft Positioned For Strong Growth
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Microsoft’s entrenched enterprise moat and high switching costs — a defensive argument underpinning revenue durability and premium multiples. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away
• Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion on “3 cloud stocks to buy” lists (alongside AMZN/GOOGL) reinforces Microsoft’s exposure to a potential cloud/AI cycle but is broad‑market, not MSFT‑specific. 3 Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy Before 2026 as Digital Demand Soars
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — some analysts argue MSFT is a “compounder at any price,” others recommend accumulating slowly due to rich multiples and heavy capex; this is keeping some investors on the sidelines. Microsoft Faces a Key Question: Compounder at Any Price or Accumulate Slowly
• Neutral Sentiment: Options “whale” activity shows large positioning in MSFT — could signal directional conviction but not definitive on sentiment. Monitor flows for confirmation. Check Out What Whales Are Doing With MSFT
• Negative Sentiment: NVIDIA’s $20B Groq deal strengthens a competitor’s inference‑speed lead — a direct long‑term threat to Azure/AI hosting economics as inference demand grows; this likely weighs on MSFT sentiment today. NVIDIA’s $20B Groq Deal Is a Warning Shot to AI Rivals (MSFT)
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns about Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI and Copilot adoption (reports that drove a recent pullback) are pressuring sentiment — execution and partner dynamics are key near‑term risks. Microsoft (MSFT) Fell Due to Concerns About Its Relationship With OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting the stock looks “pricey” and that heavy data‑center capex could pressure margins/returns in the near term — a valuation headwind for momentum investors. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $487.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $497.15 and its 200 day moving average is $503.42. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.89%.

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).