Talbot Financial LLC Acquires 7,994 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 247,472 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 10.8% of Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $128,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stores Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullishness on AI upside — Wedbush/Dan Ives reiterating Outperform and a $625 price target implies material upside for MSFT if AI monetization accelerates into 2026. Microsoft Stock Has 29% Upside in 2026, Says Dan Ives
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts forecasting a large incremental AI revenue stream — one top analyst scenario models roughly $25B of AI-driven revenue in fiscal 2026, supporting claims that MSFT may be undervalued on current multiples. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Top Analyst Forecasts $25B AI Revenue Boost
• Positive Sentiment: Product and partnership momentum — new partnerships, a cybercrime platform rollout and multi-year deals (e.g., with Cognizant) expand commercial channels for Copilot/Azure services. These deals support revenue visibility even as investment ramps. Microsoft Expands AI Footprint
• Positive Sentiment: Large AI-capex commitments — Microsoft is funneling sizable capital into AI (including major investments in India and Canada), which supports long-term cloud/AI leadership despite short-term spending. Heavy AI Investment Positions Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention and favorable long-term narratives (dividend-growth narrative, Zacks/Fool coverage) keep MSFT in buy-lists even as short-term volatility persists. Why Microsoft Is a Top Growth Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Gaming struggles — coverage noting Xbox is “losing the console race by miles” highlights declining hardware sales, layoffs and studio cuts that pressure Xbox profitability and near-term investor sentiment. Losing the Console Race by Miles
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and governance concerns — reports that Satya Nadella is pressing teams on Copilot progress (and commentary about micromanagement) suggest internal stress over execution timelines. Microsoft CEO Pushes Staff on Copilot Ambitions
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about OpenAI exposure and required spending — some analysts/columns argue OpenAI ties could be a liability and commentators warn Microsoft “requires mass spending” to keep Azure competitive, both of which can pressure margins and near-term sentiment. OpenAI Is Looking More Like A Liability Jim Cramer Says Microsoft “Requires Mass Spending”

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $485.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $499.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $503.42.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Baird R W upgraded Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $675.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.03.

Microsoft Company 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).