BLB&B Advisors LLC Sells 1,831 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

BLB&B Advisors LLC cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,367 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,831 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.1% of BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $73,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $259,539,471,000 after acquiring an additional 7,314,509 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Arete Research raised their target price on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.50.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $411.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $395.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $446.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft News Roundup

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 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).