MBL Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• MBL Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 32.0% during Q4 to 26,052 shares, worth about $12.60 million, making MSFT its 20th-largest holding (1.0% of the portfolio).
• Insider activity was notable: EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares (about $5.05 million), trimming her position by 8.2%, while director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares, increasing his stake by 6.34%.
• Microsoft posted an earnings beat (EPS $4.14 vs. $3.86; revenue $81.27B, +16.7% YoY) and holds a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $576.66 target, but faces mixed catalysts including integration of Anthropic’s Mythos (positive) and a potential $2.8 billion UK lawsuit (negative).

MBL Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,052 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,317 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.0% of MBL Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. MBL Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $576.66.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $432.92 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $392.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $452.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft said it will embed Anthropic’s Claude Mythos into its secure development lifecycle (Project Glasswing) to find and mitigate vulnerabilities earlier — a move that strengthens Microsoft’s AI-security offering and underpins enterprise trust in Azure and dev tools. Microsoft to integrate Anthropic's Mythos into its security development program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing remains strong: KeyBanc reiterated an Overweight rating (with a $600 target) and other firms continue to publish high price targets, supporting upside expectations into earnings. Is Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) a Top AI Play on Azure Growth and Memory Supply Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft cut Xbox Game Pass prices (and reshaped Call of Duty access) to win back gamers — a consumer-facing move that may boost subscription growth and engagement, and has been received positively by the market. Microsoft cuts Game Pass subscription prices after new Xbox CEO promises to 'recommit' to gamers
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Microsoft’s push to be the “agentic AI internet” backbone — messaging that fuels investor optimism around Azure and platform monetization. “We Do Not Have Conflicting Interests….” Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Gains on New Plan to be the Agentic AI Internet’s Backbone
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn promoted longtime COO Daniel Shapero to CEO while Ryan Roslansky takes a broader Microsoft role — an orderly internal transition that reduces execution risk but is unlikely to move core financials in the near term. LinkedIn’s CEO is moving on; please hold your tearful video tributes
• Negative Sentiment: A U.K. tribunal ruled Microsoft must face a mass $2.8 billion lawsuit alleging overcharging on cloud licences — a large headline risk that could pressure sentiment and create legal/legal-cost uncertainty. Microsoft must face $2.8 billion UK lawsuit over cloud computing licences
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary (e.g., “Code Red” pieces) suggests some investors worry Microsoft is losing momentum in parts of the AI race — such narratives can amplify short-term selling pressure ahead of earnings. Microsoft’s Code Red Is Real: Can It Keep Up in the AI Race?

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).

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