Milestone Asset Management LLC Acquires 14,673 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Milestone Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 174.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,673 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.1% of Milestone Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $423.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $398.43 and its 200-day moving average is $439.92. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit defeat for Elon Musk clears a major legal overhang and is seen as helping Microsoft’s AI ecosystem and partner exposure. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a new, large Microsoft stake, reinforcing the view that some major investors see MSFT as undervalued relative to its AI growth prospects. MSFT Stock Alert: What to Know as Bill Ackman Adds Microsoft Position
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted Microsoft as a beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption, with Azure and Copilot demand still driving the long-term growth story. Microsoft Rides on Enterprise AI Advancements: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several fund updates showed mixed institutional activity, including notable purchases and trims, which points to continued debate over Microsoft’s near-term valuation rather than a clear change in fundamentals. Pershing Square boosts Microsoft stake with 5.65M shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines flagged potential pressure points, including worries that GitHub AI competition is intensifying and that higher AI infrastructure spending could weigh on margins. Microsoft (MSFT) Faces GitHub AI Crisis as OpenAI’s Codex and Rivals Catch Up

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. China Renaissance dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.88.

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).