Aspiriant LLC Increases Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Aspiriant LLC raised its Microsoft stake 6.9% in Q4 to 48,086 shares (about $23.26 million), making MSFT 0.7% of its portfolio and its 25th-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat estimates in the most recent quarter with $4.14 EPS versus $3.86 expected and $81.27 billion in revenue (up 16.7% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 ($3.64 annualized, ~0.9% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive despite some target cuts—MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $577.58, while recent news highlights AI/cloud tailwinds and added data‑center capacity.

Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,086 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.7% of Aspiriant LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Aspiriant LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $420.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $355.67 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $391.43 and its 200 day moving average is $455.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research 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 company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $577.58.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Historic multi‑day rally and an “extreme bounce” vs. options pricing — momentum traders are piling in after an unusually large short‑term rebound that options markets hadn’t priced. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New commercial wins and partnerships widen enterprise AI reach — a five‑year strategic AI, cybersecurity and cloud deal with Stellantis expands Microsoft’s addressable market in automotive software and services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure buildouts support product adoption — Microsoft secured spare capacity at a Norway data center originally tied to OpenAI (adding large GPU capacity) and an early online Fairweather data center, strengthening Azure’s AI compute supply. Read More. • Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support remains — TD Cowen reiterated a Buy with a $540 target (still below prior $610 target) and other analysts continue to see long‑term AI/cloud upside, giving investors conviction to buy the dip. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Government adoption of Microsoft AI tools (CFTC surveillance) highlights public‑sector demand but is unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially — reflects platform credibility more than a big immediate revenue boost. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy options and unusual volume are amplifying moves — some of the price action reflects positioning and technical dynamics rather than fundamental news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and product risk — reports that Anthropic/OpenAI moves and new models (Claude Mythos) could pressure Copilot adoption raise execution and competitive risk for Microsoft’s AI offerings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation headwinds — some firms recently cut price targets (Piper Sandler, Robert W. Baird, etc.) and investors remain concerned about heavy AI capex (data‑center spending) weighing on near‑term returns. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/ESG noise — the NYT piece on Microsoft scaling back carbon‑removal commitments could prompt criticism and potential impairments or higher scrutiny. Read More.

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).

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