10,908 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,908 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,650,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.3% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. BLVD Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, ARK & TLK Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft’s Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $395.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $427.46 and a 200 day moving average of $476.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Microsoft 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).