Atwater Malick LLC Buys 1,867 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Atwater Malick LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,625 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.3% of Atwater Malick LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Atwater Malick LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 27.1% in the third quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 62,712 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,482,000 after purchasing an additional 13,389 shares in the last quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the third quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 36,514 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Chokshi & Queen Wealth Advisors Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chokshi & Queen Wealth Advisors Inc now owns 4,860 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 284,203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 200 AI chip launch: Microsoft unveiled a second‑generation inference accelerator that management says cuts inference cost and power per query — a direct lever to improve Azure/Copilot margins as AI usage scales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large data‑center approvals: Mount Pleasant, Wis., board approved plans for 15 additional data centers (multi‑billion dollar project); expands capacity to meet AI demand and supports long‑term Azure revenue growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cloud / AI momentum into earnings: Multiple previews highlight robust Azure growth and Copilot monetization as the primary upside drivers for revenue and guidance sensitivity. Investors expect management commentary on monetization and backlog. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning ahead of Q2: Analysts and traders are pricing in a high‑expectations earnings event where forward guidance will likely matter more than the headline quarter. Watch capex/guidance language. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholder returns: Microsoft announced its first 2026 dividend payment date — supports income investors but has limited near‑term price impact vs. AI narrative. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst concern on margins/CAPEX: Stifel lowered its price target citing near‑term margin pressure from elevated AI spend; other firms have trimmed targets or reiterated caution ahead of guidance. That raises downside risk if management signals continued heavy spend. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Environmental & regulatory/ESG scrutiny: Reporting flags rising water use at AI data centers — a potential regulatory/community constraint and reputational risk that could affect future site approvals and costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/third‑party AI risk: A class action tied to an AI hiring tool used by Big Tech (including Microsoft customers) underscores litigation and compliance risks around AI deployments. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Rothschild Redb downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho cut their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $639.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $612.58.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $480.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $477.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $500.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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).