Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Increased by tru Independence LLC

tru Independence LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,470 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of tru Independence LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. tru Independence LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 56,444 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,235,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 61,030 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 70,992 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,770,000 after acquiring an additional 11,797 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 69,373 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,931,000 after acquiring an additional 5,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwater Malick LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 9.4% during the third quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 21,625 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $612.58.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 200 AI chip launch: Microsoft unveiled a second‑generation inference accelerator that management says cuts inference cost and power per query — a direct lever to improve Azure/Copilot margins as AI usage scales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large data‑center approvals: Mount Pleasant, Wis., board approved plans for 15 additional data centers (multi‑billion dollar project); expands capacity to meet AI demand and supports long‑term Azure revenue growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cloud / AI momentum into earnings: Multiple previews highlight robust Azure growth and Copilot monetization as the primary upside drivers for revenue and guidance sensitivity. Investors expect management commentary on monetization and backlog. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning ahead of Q2: Analysts and traders are pricing in a high‑expectations earnings event where forward guidance will likely matter more than the headline quarter. Watch capex/guidance language. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholder returns: Microsoft announced its first 2026 dividend payment date — supports income investors but has limited near‑term price impact vs. AI narrative. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst concern on margins/CAPEX: Stifel lowered its price target citing near‑term margin pressure from elevated AI spend; other firms have trimmed targets or reiterated caution ahead of guidance. That raises downside risk if management signals continued heavy spend. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Environmental & regulatory/ESG scrutiny: Reporting flags rising water use at AI data centers — a potential regulatory/community constraint and reputational risk that could affect future site approvals and costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/third‑party AI risk: A class action tied to an AI hiring tool used by Big Tech (including Microsoft customers) underscores litigation and compliance risks around AI deployments. Read More.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $480.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $477.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $500.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.89%.

Microsoft 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).