Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,176 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,761 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.8% of Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. New Street Research increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $400.66 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $447.07 and a 200-day moving average of $485.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were 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 directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short-term AI worry eased after comments from Anthropic that tempered fears about AI displacing enterprise software, giving MSFT shares an immediate lift. Microsoft Stock Climbs After AI Fears Ease on Anthropic’s Comments
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its global connectivity push via a partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink (Orbital AI access), which supports Azure edge/sovereign-cloud use cases and broadens market reach in underserved regions. Microsoft and SpaceX’s Starlink partner on global community internet effort
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying and technical oversold signals were highlighted by market commentators, supporting a narrative that the recent pullback may be overdone and attracting value buyers. Microsoft Is Sliding—An Insider Buy and Oversold Signals Are Changing the Setup
• Positive Sentiment: The White House invited major cloud/AI players including Microsoft to a power-cost pledge, a policy development that could ease data‑center energy risk and improve investor confidence around operating costs. White House to host Big Tech in pledge to rein in power costs
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is among strategic backers of autonomous‑driving firm Wayve’s latest funding round — a signal of continued venture activity and ecosystem bets, but limited near‑term revenue impact. Nvidia, Microsoft back self-driving firm Wayve as it hits $8.6 billion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership changes in Xbox (Asha Sharma replacing Phil Spencer) tie gaming more directly to Microsoft’s AI/cloud strategy — strategically relevant but unlikely to move near-term financials materially. Microsoft Gaming Shift As Asha Sharma Reshapes Xbox And AI Role
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s Fair Trade Commission reportedly raided Microsoft Japan over suspected anti‑monopoly issues tied to Azure — a regulatory probe that could create legal costs, business disruption or reputational risk if escalated. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, Nikkei says
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile critics and media voices (e.g., Jim Cramer) called for a “refresh” at Microsoft, adding negative narrative pressure amid the stock’s selloff and keeping sentiment fragile. Microsoft (MSFT) Needs a Refresh, Says Jim Cramer
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry’s public accusation about aggressive accounting at big tech (including MSFT) can amplify worries about transparency and AI‑capex accounting, potentially weighing on sentiment if the narrative gains traction. Michael Burry Warns MSFT, GOOG, META Are Using ‘Sinister’ Accounting To Hide AI Costs

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).