Foster & Motley Inc. Acquires 5,427 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 7.8% in Q4, purchasing an additional 5,427 shares to hold 74,800 shares valued at $36.18 million, making MSFT its 9th-largest position (1.9% of the portfolio).
• Several large institutions also added to Microsoft (notably Norges Bank, Nuveen, UBS AM and Northern Trust), leaving institutional ownership at about 71.13%, while insiders showed mixed activity — Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares and EVP Kathleen Hogan sold 12,321 shares.
• Microsoft recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue, announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.64, ~1.0% yield), and holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" analyst rating with a $586.26 price target amid mixed recent revisions.

Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,800 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,427 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.9% of Foster & Motley Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective 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. New Street Research raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.26.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $370.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $392.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $458.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $355.67 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas analyst reiterates confidence that Azure can still “crush estimates” despite investor worries about $150B+ AI spending, arguing Microsoft is on a “war footing” (Copilot overhaul) that supports continued cloud revenue upside. Microsoft Azure Still Poised To Crush Estimates Despite $150 Billion Spending Fears: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis pieces argue recent sell‑off may be overdone — framing capex concerns as temporary and highlighting MSFT’s long‑term edge in agentic AI, custom silicon and enterprise suites. This supports the bull case for patient investors. Microsoft: Temporary CapEx Panic Masks The Long-Term Edge
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s ecosystem continues to show incremental wins—third‑party offerings landing in the Microsoft Marketplace and M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm) participating in industry deals—helping sustain commercial momentum. A2A Protocol / Marketplace Adoption
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI’s large‑scale monetization plans (reported ad revenue ambitions) could alter the AI market structure; MSFT’s exposure to OpenAI is material, but implications are mixed for Microsoft’s direct revenue and strategic posture. How OpenAI's Reported Ad Plans Could Change the AI Business Model
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft confirmed its Q3 earnings release date (April 29) — a near‑term catalyst that could amplify moves if results or guidance deviate from expectations. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Negative Sentiment: Product execution concerns surfaced as reports note Copilot UI changes and some institutional customers favoring Anthropic’s Claude — signs of competitive pressure and potential customer churn in AI assistant adoption. Microsoft's Copilot 'Feels Like Teams:' Why This Fund Manager Is Swapping It For Claude
• Negative Sentiment: Industry reports point to real‑world constraints (land, power, permits) forcing hyperscalers to delay or scrap data center projects — a direct challenge to MSFT’s ability to scale cloud capacity quickly without steep incremental costs. While Amazon, Microsoft, Google Struggle With AI On Land — China Looks To The Sea
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and sector weakness: new console sales data and broader software slump headlines have pressured MSFT shares alongside peers, and at least one large investor disclosed trimming a Microsoft stake. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft Stocks All Fall on New Video Game Console Sales Data

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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