BLB&B Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

BLB&B Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,367 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,831 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.1% of BLB&B Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $73,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. IRON Financial LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. PMG Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Massive commercial backlog — Microsoft’s order book was highlighted as roughly $627 billion, underscoring multi-year revenue visibility from cloud and AI customers. Microsoft's $627 Billion Order Book Is Bigger Than ...
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst move — Arete Research lifted its price target dramatically to $870 and kept a Buy stance, a strong signal to growth-oriented investors that upside is still being priced in by some brokers. Arete Research Adjusts Price Target on Microsoft to $870 ...
• Positive Sentiment: Product commercialization — Microsoft moved Agent 365 (AI agent management) out of preview to general availability, signaling commercialization of enterprise AI governance tools that can drive SaaS and services revenue. Microsoft takes Agent 365 out of preview ...
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism from backlog growth — Some analysts point to nearly 100% backlog growth and suggest material upside (~41% median upside from some coverage), which supports a longer-term bull case. Analysts See 41% Upside for Microsoft Stock ...
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support — Multiple firms (Jefferies, RBC, Scotiabank) have reiterated Buy/Outperform views or updated targets after the quarter, keeping institutional demand intact. Jefferies reiterates its buy rating ...
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. government AI reviews — Microsoft agreed to give U.S. agencies early access to unreleased models for security testing alongside Google and xAI; this reduces deployment surprises but increases regulatory oversight. What we know about US stress tests of Google, xAI and Microsoft AI models
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce moves — Microsoft launched a major voluntary buyout program to cut costs; that should lower near-term expense run-rate but risks losing experienced talent. Microsoft Just Launched a Major Voluntary Buyout ...
• Negative Sentiment: Huge capex and margin pressure — Microsoft’s 2026 capex guidance (~$190B) is materially above expectations (cited ~23% higher), with rising memory prices weighing on gross margins and fueling investor worries about near-term ROI. Microsoft's Capex Spending for 2026 Is 23% Higher ...
• Negative Sentiment: Investor skepticism and narrative risk — High-profile skeptics (e.g., Jim Cramer) and commentary that the market is “pricing AI costs not AI returns” are keeping sentiment fragile after the recent earnings reaction. Jim Cramer Isn’t a Fan of Microsoft After Rough Quarter ...
• Negative Sentiment: Product/segment weakness — Xbox leadership overhaul follows several quarters of soft console sales, flagging at least one consumer revenue stream that needs fixing. Microsoft Xbox CEO overhauls leadership amid sinking sales

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6%

Microsoft stock opened at $411.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $395.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $446.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC decreased their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.50.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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).

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