Hofer & Associates. Inc Acquires 1,993 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Hofer & Associates. Inc boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,279 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,993 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.9% of Hofer & Associates. Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Hofer & Associates. Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed a Buy on MSFT and kept a high $610 price target, signaling strong analyst conviction about upside from AI and cloud exposure — a line of support for the stock amid recent weakness. Microsoft receives a buy rating from Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Wikipedia signed licensing deals with Microsoft and other big tech firms — this expands Microsoft’s access to high-quality training data and reduces content friction for AI services, supporting Azure/Copilot product differentiation. Wikipedia signs AI licensing deals
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and industry write-ups emphasize Azure’s multi-model AI infrastructure and enterprise traction, reinforcing the revenue growth narrative that underpins Microsoft’s premium valuation. Will MSFT stock climb as Azure AI gains traction?
• Positive Sentiment: Surveys and analyst commentary (Morgan Stanley / CIO surveys) continue to highlight Microsoft’s leadership in generative AI and enterprise cloud, supporting longer-term upside expectations even as the stock cools. CIO survey highlights MSFT leadership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out a “community-first” plan for U.S. AI datacenter buildout — a strategic PR and regulatory move intended to ease local opposition and long-term buildout risk; it’s constructive but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft unveils community-first plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (fiscal Q2 results due Jan. 28) are a near-term catalyst — could amplify moves in either direction depending on Azure AI growth metrics and margin commentary. Why Jan. 28 could be big for investors
• Negative Sentiment: Switzerland’s competition authority opened a preliminary inquiry into Microsoft’s licensing fees after complaints about price hikes for Microsoft 365 — potential regulatory action could pressure product pricing and margins in Europe. Swiss probe into licensing fees
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft’s annual spend on Anthropic approaches ~$500M raise concerns about rising third‑party AI model costs and margin pressure for AI features (a strategic bet but one that increases operating expense). Anthropic spending nears $500M
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft agreed to a record purchase of soil carbon credits to offset data‑center emissions — a meaningful one‑time ESG cost and a sign of mounting operational expenses tied to AI growth (positive for ESG but a near-term cash outlay). Record soil carbon credit deal

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6%

Microsoft stock opened at $456.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $484.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $502.84.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, December 22nd. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Arete Research raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.37.

About Microsoft

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).