Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is United Asset Strategies Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,890 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,227 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.3% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $53,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 155.7% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value 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 approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $690.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.87.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $470.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $477.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $500.97. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched the Maia 200 AI inference chip, which the company says delivers roughly 30% better performance-per-dollar and will be deployed in U.S. data centers — a direct play on lowering inference costs, improving gross margins for Azure/Copilot, and reducing reliance on third-party GPUs. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sell‑side and independent analysts are broadly bullish ahead of Q2, forecasting strong Azure and AI adoption that could drive another “robust” quarter; several previews expect revenue and AI‑driven growth to beat or justify premium multiples. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming Q2 earnings (Jan. 28) and the Fed meeting make this a volatile catalyst week — investors are focused on forward guidance and margins (not just trailing revenue), so the stock could swing on the tone of management’s commentary. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price‑target moves are mixed: some firms trimmed targets (Bank of America lowered its PT), while others maintain buy/outperform ratings — this produces conflicting near‑term signals despite a generally bullish long‑term view. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: a class‑action suit targets an AI hiring tool (Eightfold) used by Microsoft and others, raising headline risk around AI product governance and potential reputational/legal costs. Read More.

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).