Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Valley National Advisers Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,701 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.7% of Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highland Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Highland Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,506,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 15,034 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,271,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,960 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,809,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Northland Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $838,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $414.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $395.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $448.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and the earnings call highlighted 40%+ Azure/cloud growth and accelerating AI monetization, giving investors confidence in the company’s long-term AI revenue runway. Microsoft Earnings Call: AI Growth Surges, Margins Squeezed
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Pentagon signed agreements allowing Microsoft’s AI tech on classified networks — a credibility and contract win that can translate into long-term, high?value government revenue. Pentagon inks deals with Nvidia, Microsoft and AWS to deploy AI on classified networks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions include several price?target raises and reaffirmations (Benchmark raised to $525, others keep buy ratings), signaling continued bullish conviction among some buy?side firms. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Target Increased to $525 by Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Product catalyst: rollout of Windows 11’s new Xbox Mode supports consumer engagement and adds a near?term, tangible product story for the stock. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Jumps on Windows 11 Xbox Mode Rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: The revised Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (ending exclusivity) is being parsed by markets: it reduces some exclusivity upside but clarifies commercial terms that could be neutral-to-positive longer term depending on monetization. Microsoft and OpenAI Just Ended Their Exclusive Deal, and Wall Street Is Trying Hard to Shake Off the Negatives for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from TV/hosts (e.g., Jim Cramer) describes MSFT as attractively valued but notes limited new messaging on the call — this shapes retail sentiment but isn’t new fundamental data. Jim Cramer on Microsoft: “Maybe You Can Consider It Cheap, But It’s Software”
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on record capex (roughly $190B guidance) and the near?term hit to free cash flow — that spending narrative caused the post?earnings pullback and continues to cap the multiple. Beat meets bill: MSFT stock slips on AI expenditure concerns despite strong Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman’s note flagging extreme cloud cash burn and other outlets highlighting the industry’s rising AI capex raises concern that spending could pressure margins and returns if monetization lags. Microsoft, Amazon On Watch ? Goldman Sounds Alarm On 90% Cloud Cash Burn
• Negative Sentiment: Some brokers trimmed price targets or cut upside on valuation as they bake in capex risk (HSBC cut its target), keeping a portion of the market cautious. HSBC Cuts Microsoft Price Target to $571 From $593

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $610.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $556.15.

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).