Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 195,881 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,603 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.4% of Ballentine Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $101,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockline Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,248 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,134,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,707,184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,402,186,000 after buying an additional 73,003 shares during the last quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 11.0% in the third quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,079 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 8,435 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,369,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $384.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $450.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $486.83. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas says OpenAI’s updated spending plan still benefits big cloud suppliers, reinforcing Azure demand for Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. OpenAI’s New Spending Plan Is Still a Positive for Microsoft and Oracle, Says BNP Paribas
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs’ bullish take on Microsoft after Maia 200 (Microsoft’s AI accelerator) narrows performance gaps with competitors gives a growth narrative that can support multiple expansion or limit downside. Maia 200 Gives Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) a Boost With Goldman Sachs, But Nowhere Else
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party software and agents continue to land in Microsoft Marketplace (CrowdStrike Falcon, AI/R’s Llia, Reltio Azure certification), expanding Azure ecosystem monetization and ARR stickiness. Microsoft (MSFT) Positions for Long-Term AI and Enterprise Growth AI/R’s Intelligent AI Agent for Recruitment Operations Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace
• Positive Sentiment: Bridgewater’s estimate that big tech will invest roughly $650B in AI this year supports continued hyperscaler demand for cloud/datacenter capacity—structural tailwind for Azure. Big Tech to invest about $650 billion in AI in 2026, Bridgewater says
• Neutral Sentiment: Market technicals and insider activity are mixed: a senior director’s recent buy and oversold indicators (RSI, MACD) suggest the selloff may be nearing exhaustion, but that’s not a guarantee of an immediate rebound. Microsoft stock page (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex for AI/datacenters (66% surge noted by some analysts) is raising investor fears about the timing of returns and free‑cash‑flow pressure—even if Microsoft can fund spending internally. Is MSFT Stock Vulnerable to Rising CapEx Pressure From AI Spending?
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change at Xbox—Phil Spencer’s retirement and Asha Sharma’s promotion—spooked investors who see gaming as a near‑term revenue headwind and worry about execution during the transition. That news contributed to intraday weakness. Gaming Reinvents Itself Around Software and Subscriptions Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Departure of Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst churn: some downgrades and skeptical coverage (e.g., recent downgrade notes) add selling pressure during the broader tech pullback. Palantir Upgraded, Microsoft Downgraded: Updated Rankings on Top Blue-Chip Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks: OpenAI’s expanding partnerships (consultancies) and questions about the long‑term return on Microsoft’s ~\$13B OpenAI investment create uncertainty about exclusive advantages and future monetization. OpenAI partners with McKinsey, BCG, Accenture, and Capgemini to push its Frontier AI agent platform Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Tech Giant Locks 20% of OpenAI Revenue to 2032

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

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).