Northside Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 92,975 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,718 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.8% of Northside Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Northside Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Up 1.7%
Microsoft stock opened at $513.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $430.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $412.45.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $570.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s strong Azure and cloud performance helped drive a rally of roughly 48% from its June low, with the stock reaching a 10-month high and moving above a technical buy point. A recently formed “golden cross,” in which the 50-day moving average moved above the 200-day average, also supports bullish momentum. Bull v. Bear: MSFT Hits 2026 High, is a New Record Next?
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly in early discussions with Moonshot AI regarding its Kimi K3 model. A potential arrangement could add another AI service to Azure and create a new revenue stream, although negotiations are not finalized. MSFT Stock Alert: Moonshot Could Give Microsoft Another AI Revenue Stream
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s deployment of more than 25 AI agents across its supply chain illustrates early enterprise use cases for agentic AI, including demand forecasting, freight routing and inventory management. Successful internal deployments could support broader adoption of Microsoft’s AI tools. Microsoft Puts 25 AI Agents to Work on Supply Chain Costs
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is spending heavily on AI infrastructure—approximately $175 billion this year—and has reassured employees that data-center investment is intended to support long-term growth. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion, while contracted backlog and commercial bookings remain major valuation supports. Microsoft Reassures Employees About AI Data Center Impacts
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s gains have helped lift major indexes, but the strength is concentrated in a few mega-cap technology stocks while small caps and many sectors weaken as bond yields rise. This creates a broader market-risk backdrop despite Microsoft’s relative strength. Dow Jones Futures: Microsoft, Titans Mask Market Weakness
- Negative Sentiment: One analyst argued that Microsoft’s valuation rerating may be largely complete for now, raising the risk of profit-taking after the recent monthly rally. At the current valuation, further gains may require continued upward revisions to cloud and AI growth expectations. Microsoft: The Rerating Is Probably Over For Now
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).
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