Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $72.68 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 140,323 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,222 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.2% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. 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 (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $487.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $497.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $503.42. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Guggenheim set a $675.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.03.

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).