<div id="readability-page-1">Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,423 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.2% of Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $47,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.<ul><li>MarketBeat Week in Review – 02/09 - 02/13</li></ul>Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. IRON Financial LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% during 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. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.3% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock. <h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2>In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock. <h2>Key Microsoft News</h2><ul><li>Cisco Systems Below $82? Buy Now, It Won’t Last—$182 Is Coming</li></ul>Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:<ul> <li>Positive Sentiment: Major private-market validation for the AI ecosystem could benefit Microsoft as a cloud and AI infrastructure provider — Anthropic’s new $380B valuation (which includes investments tied to Microsoft) signals strong enterprise demand for AI models and likely more backend cloud consumption. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion as Enterprise AI Demand Explodes</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed a Buy on MSFT with a $635 price target — a bullish institutional view that supports the long‑term AI/cloud thesis despite recent sentiment-driven weakness. Microsoft: Buy Rating Reaffirmed on Undervalued AI and Cloud Growth Drivers Despite Sentiment-Driven Sell-Off</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is leading industry efforts on “digital trust” with other large tech firms (Trusted Tech Alliance), a reputational win that may ease enterprise sales cycles for security‑sensitive customers. Microsoft, Ericsson lead global tech alliance for digital trust</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: R&amp;D/infra innovation: reports that Microsoft is exploring superconducting power lines for AI data centers point to potential long‑term efficiency gains and differentiation for its hyperscale buildout. Microsoft Explores Superconducting Power to Boost AI Data Centers</li> <li>Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief’s bold timeline for rapid white‑collar automation (12–18 months) fuels debate — it underscores market opportunity but also raises labor/regulatory concerns that could shape adoption rates. Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months — for all white-collar work to be automated by AI</li> <li>Neutral Sentiment: Market technicians and contrarian pieces argue MSFT looks oversold/potentially bottoming after the post‑earnings drop — these narratives can attract buyers, but timing is uncertain. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk increased today: the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has issued investigative demands and questioned Microsoft’s rivals about its AI/cloud licensing and business practices — this escalation is a clear near‑term negative catalyst. US FTC ramps up scrutiny of Microsoft over AI, cloud practices, questions rivals, Bloomberg reports</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Investor rotation and positioning: several funds disclosed cuts to MSFT stakes this week, and commentary highlights investor concern over heavy CapEx for AI infrastructure and concentration risk tied to OpenAI—factors that have pressured the stock. PRIMECAP Management Co cuts Microsoft stake by 1.1M</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Critics argue Microsoft has underperformed some AI peers and that capex intensity may strain free cash flow, reinforcing sentiment‑driven selling pressure. Microsoft Is Spending, Investors Are Losing</li> </ul><h2>Microsoft Trading Down 0.1%</h2>Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $401.32 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $460.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.53. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. <ul><li>Why Microsoft’s Cloud Migrations Matter More Than Its AI Hype</li></ul>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year. <h2>Microsoft Dividend Announcement</h2>The company 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%. <h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2>Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an &#34;overweight&#34; rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (down previously from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an &#34;outperform&#34; rating and issued a $641.00 price objective (down previously from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus target price of $591.95.Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft<h2>About Microsoft</h2> (Free Report)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).<h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Microsoft</li><li>Your Bank Account Is No Longer Safe</li><li>Nvidia CEO Issues Bold Tesla Call</li><li>Buy this Gold Stock Before May 2026</li><li>What a Former CIA Agent Knows About the Coming Collapse</li><li>The day the gold market broke</li></ul><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA"/>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.<h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Microsoft Right Now?</h2>Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.While Microsoft currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here </div>

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Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in Q3, owning 92,423 shares valued at $47.87 million. Other institutional investors also adjusted their positions in Microsoft. CEO Judson Althoff and EVP Takeshi Numoto sold shares, reducing their holdings. Positive sentiment surrounds Microsoft due to its role in AI and cloud infrastructure, with Citi reaffirming a Buy rating and a $635 price target. The company is also leading efforts in digital trust and exploring innovations for AI data centers.

- Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 1.9%, owning 92,423 shares valued at approximately $47.87 million.  
- Several institutional investors, including IRON Financial LLC and Wellington Capital Management Inc., also adjusted their positions in Microsoft during recent quarters.  
- Despite mixed market sentiments regarding Microsoft's stock, it reported $4.14 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations.

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Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Has $47.87 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT