WNY Asset Management LLC Invests $5.70 Million in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

WNY Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 15,417 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $495.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $411.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $408.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Evercore set a $528.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Microsoft’s Azure expansion, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, and the company’s ability to sustain double-digit earnings growth. Microsoft’s latest quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue of approximately $90 billion and earnings growth supported by Azure. Microsoft’s Cloud Gains Can Sustain Double-Digit Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing stronger Copilot demand and accelerating infrastructure investment. Other analysts remain bullish, with a six-month median target near $540, reinforcing investor confidence in Microsoft’s long-term AI positioning. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified platform, potentially improving distribution, user engagement, and monetization as it competes with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Copilot Applications
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft approved the first AI data-center deployment under its $9.7 billion agreement with IREN, supporting Azure capacity expansion. The deal improves supply visibility but also underscores Microsoft’s substantial capital requirements. IREN Delivers First AI Cloud Deployment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Microsoft’s roughly $175 billion AI infrastructure spending plan could pressure free cash flow and cloud margins. A reported decline in cloud gross margin and higher data-center, chip, electricity, and labor costs raise questions about how much of the company’s large AI backlog will translate into profit. Microsoft’s AI Backlog and Profitability Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft has closed at least 15 China offices and joint ventures add geopolitical and operational uncertainty, although Azure reportedly provides a profitable reason to retain a limited China presence. Microsoft Retreats in China

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).