Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,436,949 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,960 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 7.2% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $744,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% in the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,816,000 after buying an additional 2,373 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the second quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $457,119,000 after acquiring an additional 33,382 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 285,163 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $147,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,770 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bristol Myers Squibb partners with Microsoft to deploy AI imaging tools to accelerate early lung‑cancer detection — strengthens MSFT’s healthcare AI revenue pipeline and commercial credibility. Bristol Myers partners with Microsoft for AI-driven lung cancer detection
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI (Microsoft‑backed) reportedly hit ~$20B revenue in 2025 — a direct upside to Microsoft’s AI exposure through cloud compute, licensing and partnership arrangements. Microsoft‑Backed OpenAI Hits $20B Revenue Target in 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is pushing to cut data‑center energy use and Nadella warns energy costs will decide the AI race — could reduce future operating/AI infra costs and support margins if successfully executed. Microsoft Wants to Lower Data Center Energy Use. Does That Help the Bull Case for MSFT Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target (from $655 to $625) but kept a Buy — signals continued long‑term conviction but acknowledges nearer‑term valuation/nearterm risk. TD Cowen adjusts price target on Microsoft to $625 from $655, maintains buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft Marketplace gains incremental ecosystem wins (Cobalt Teams integration)—small revenue/engagement boost but limited immediate stock impact. Cobalt Microsoft® Teams® Integration Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace®
• Neutral Sentiment: Jan. 28 earnings is the next major catalyst — investors will focus on Azure growth, AI-related capex and guidance. Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 28
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Azure cloud growth and forward guidance fell short of expectations have pressured the stock — investors are sensitive to any signs of decelerating cloud revenue or rising AI‑related costs. Microsoft (MSFT) Traded Lower as Its Reported Azure Cloud Growth and Forward Guidance Fell Short of Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft researchers published a list of jobs most exposed to AI, and related headlines have contributed to short‑term investor and public sentiment concerns — this helped headlines driving intraday weakness. Microsoft researchers have revealed the 40 jobs most exposed to AI—and even teachers make the list
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market/geo‑political headlines and a tech sector selloff (Magnificent Seven weakness) amplified pressure on MSFT today — macro risk is dragging even well‑funded AI leaders. America’s Biggest Tech Stocks Lead Tuesday’s Selloff as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Rattles Markets

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $454.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $481.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $502.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $665.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $500.00 price target (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cowen set a $625.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).