Banta Asset Management LP Invests $641,000 in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Banta Asset Management LP disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Microsoft, buying 1,326 shares valued at about $641,000. Microsoft now represents 0.6% of the firm’s holdings and is its 12th-largest position.
• Microsoft continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with major investors like Vanguard, Norges Bank, and UBS AM holding large positions. Overall, about 71.13% of Microsoft shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on MSFT, with 41 Buy ratings and an average price target of $561.20. The company also beat earnings expectations last quarter, reporting $4.27 EPS on revenue of $82.89 billion.

Banta Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,326 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $641,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.6% of Banta Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $502.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $416.67 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $407.63 and a 200-day moving average of $432.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Build 2026 announcements and related coverage continued to reinforce the company’s AI growth story, including new in-house models, agent tools, Windows upgrades, and enterprise AI infrastructure that could deepen its competitive position. Analysts Say Buy Microsoft Stock (MSFT) after Build 2026 Reinforces AI Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Microsoft’s AI revenue run rate crossing $37 billion, suggesting strong monetization from Azure, Copilot, and enterprise AI offerings. Microsoft's AI Revenue Run Rate Just Crossed $37 Billion. Is It the Best AI Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains supportive, with TD Cowen reiterating a buy rating and a $540 target, while other analysts and investors continue to frame Microsoft as a durable long-term AI and cloud leader. The Market Is Undervaluing Microsoft, Says Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s bullish comments comparing Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon to long-term compounding opportunities also added to the constructive investment narrative around MSFT. Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman: Buying Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon Today Could Be Like Adding Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway 25 Years Ago
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced Reid Hoffman will leave its board after nearly a decade; the move appears planned, though it removes a board member closely associated with the LinkedIn/OpenAI relationship. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to step down from Microsoft's board
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also attracting attention for broader AI ecosystem developments, including fusion power support from Helion and network-security integration for AI agents, which are positive long-term but not immediate stock catalysts. Helion, the Sam Altman-backed fusion startup, raises $465M to build a power plant for Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces flagged technical weakness in Microsoft’s chart and said the stock’s recent rejection at resistance could weigh on the broader software trade. Microsoft Stock Charts Look Vulnerable. Software Stocks Could Follow.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary around Satya Nadella rebuking an internal “make people addicted” AI memo and renewed concern over Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI may be creating some short-term reputational and partnership noise. Reid Hoffman to Leave Microsoft's Board of Directors

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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