Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Lifted by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,955 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.2% of New England Research & Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the third quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5%

Microsoft stock opened at $371.04 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $469.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, New Street Research raised their price target on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BofA reinstated coverage with a Buy and a $500 price target, highlighting Azure and Copilot as drivers for multiyear upside. BofA Projects 31% Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Nvidia unveiled an AI partnership aimed at accelerating nuclear-energy design and operations — a potential new commercial use case that underscores enterprise AI tailwinds. Microsoft, Nvidia Team Up To Build AI-Powered Nuclear Energy Future
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership and HR changes (including the departure of Microsoft’s diversity chief and a wider HR reorganization) are underway — operationally important but with an unclear near-term impact on revenue. Microsoft’s diversity chief is leaving
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch reports this is MSFT’s worst quarter in 17 years, citing weak near-term trends in cloud and software that may not be quickly fixed — a primary driver of negative sentiment. Microsoft’s stock is having its worst quarter in 17 years
• Negative Sentiment: UBS trimmed its 12‑month price target (from $600 to $510), flagging investor scrutiny on M365 and Copilot monetization — a sign analysts see slower near-term upside even if long‑term views remain constructive. Microsoft price target lowered on M365, Copilot questions
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s investor document lists heavy reliance on Microsoft for financing and compute as a top risk — this disclosure increases perceived counterparty/partner concentration risk. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting Copilot retention/monetization issues and rising AI infrastructure spending suggests the stock will need clearer product traction or margin evidence to resume a sustainable rally. Microsoft Shows “Sense of Urgency,” But MSFT Stock Will Only Rally on This Condition

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).