Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Raises Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 16.0% in the first quarter, adding 1,764 shares to reach 12,768 shares valued at about $4.73 million.
• Microsoft’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year.
• The stock remains supported by Wall Street, with analysts assigning an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $560.98, even as some concerns persist around heavy AI spending and insider share sales.

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,768 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.3% of Pathway Financial Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during 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 during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.98.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to expand its AI strategy, including a new “Microsoft Frontier Company” unit backed by a $2.5 billion investment and staffed with thousands of industry and engineering experts to help customers adopt AI faster.
• Positive Sentiment: Haleon signed a five-year agreement with Microsoft to deploy agentic AI across global operations, showing that enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth continue to support the long-term bull case, with the company still viewed as a key beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings date for July 29, which keeps investor focus on upcoming results and guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain split on the stock, with some arguing Microsoft is trading at a rare discount after a steep pullback, while others say heavy AI capital spending is clouding the near-term outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is replacing some OpenAI and Anthropic models with its own in-house AI tools have stirred debate, with investors interpreting it as both a cost-saving move and a sign that Microsoft is trying to control AI expenses more tightly.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted rising AI infrastructure spending, including concerns that capex is growing faster than margin benefits, which is pressuring sentiment toward MSFT and other hyperscalers.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed a 25%–27% jump in greenhouse gas emissions as data center buildout accelerated, adding ESG and execution concerns to the AI expansion story.
• Negative Sentiment: Class-action lawsuit headlines and deadline reminders tied to alleged AI/Copilot misrepresentations are adding legal overhang and investor uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Starbucks’ plan to use its own AI tools to cut software costs from vendors like Microsoft is feeding a broader narrative that large enterprises may eventually reduce third-party software spending.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $384.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $403.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $414.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

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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