Occidental Asset Management LLC Has $29.25 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 56,474 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,049 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.7% of Occidental Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 price target (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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 stock was 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 owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst commentary and broader tech-led market lift helped push MSFT higher after last week’s sell-off; the coverage framed the pullback as a buying opportunity. Why Microsoft Stock Topped the Market Today
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed how many paying Copilot customers it has — a concrete monetization datapoint that reassures investors about AI product revenue traction. Microsoft Finally Revealed How Many Paying Copilot Customers It Has. The Answer Was Shocking for More Reasons Than One.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports attribute part of MSFT’s gains to a key new hire meant to shore up AI efforts and execution — a governance/operational positive that calms investor nerves about execution risk. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Gains Thanks in Part to New Hire
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum at OpenAI (where Microsoft is a major backer) shows ChatGPT growth accelerating vs. Google — supportive for Microsoft’s AI strategy and Azure demand. OpenAI Intensifies Race with Google as ChatGPT Returns to Higher Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox-related reports (next Xbox reportedly a gaming PC) provided a modest product narrative boost but are unlikely to move near-term earnings materially. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Rises Alongside Reports the Next Xbox Will Be a Gaming PC
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis arguing AI spending looks large on paper but is manageable helped calm some fears — frames capex as an investment with long-term payback rather than an immediate cash drain. Microsoft’s AI Spend Looks Scary, Until You Run The Numbers
• Negative Sentiment: Melius Research downgraded MSFT from Buy to Hold and cut its price target, citing concerns about AI capex and growth—this is a direct bearish analyst action pressuring sentiment. Here’s Why Melius Moved to the Sidelines on Microsoft Stock (MSFT)
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier downgrades (e.g., Stifel) and commentary that MSFT’s valuation now trades below legacy peers like IBM highlight investor worries about heavy AI CapEx and near-term margin pressure. Microsoft’s stock is now cheaper than IBM’s. What that says about the AI trade.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $414.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $466.97 and its 200 day moving average is $495.42.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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).