Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,411 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,639 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.6% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $116,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reworked OpenAI relationship and strategic AI positioning that could accelerate MSFT’s cloud/AI roadmap — a Barron’s write-up frames the company as entering a new AI phase, supporting revenue and long-term growth expectations. Microsoft Is on a New AI Journey After Reworked OpenAI Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic ESG purchase: Microsoft agreed to buy 626,000 tonnes of BECCS carbon removal credits from a Meadow Lake Tribal Council–Svante project — helps corporate net-zero profile and reduces regulatory/PR risk on climate commitments. Svante & Meadow Lake Tribal Council Partnership Agrees to Sell Microsoft 626,000 Tonnes of Carbon Removal Credits
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation/long-term buy case: Several analysts and investors highlight MSFT as attractively priced after a sizable pullback — Seeking Alpha and other outlets argue the company’s double-digit growth and margins make it a buy on the dip. Microsoft: Double-Digit Growth At A Rare Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative AI positioning: Coverage comparing Oracle vs Microsoft as AI/cloud plays underscores MSFT’s strengths but also highlights competitive dynamics and execution trade-offs — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Oracle vs. Microsoft: Which Cloud Giant is the Better AI Play for 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector flow: MSFT features in bullish ETF/QQQ narratives — institutional buying and rotation into beaten-down tech names could support shares if macro volatility subsides. 5 Reasons the Invesco QQQ ETF Could Be Headed for a Triple-Digit Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Copilot safety/TOS headlines and security research have dented confidence — viral terms-of-service language and reports about AI-agent “trap” exploits targeting Copilot/M365 raise legal, reputational and product-risk questions. “For Entertainment Purposes Only”: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips as Copilot Warnings Emerge
• Negative Sentiment: Independent research (DeepMind framework) highlights potential ways AI agents can be weaponized, with examples noting M365 Copilot vulnerabilities — raises short-term security scrutiny and potential remediation costs. Deepmind’s ‘AI Agent Traps’ Paper Maps How Hackers Could Weaponize AI Agents Against Users
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/physical-risk headlines: Iran’s IRGC threats to large AI hubs (projects backed by Microsoft/OpenAI/NVIDIA) and investor pressure over data-center water/power use add geopolitical and ESG risk layers that could increase costs or slow builds. Iran’s IRGC Targets $30 Billion Stargate Project Backed by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia Investors press Amazon, Microsoft and Google on water, power use in US data centers

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. HSBC decreased their target price on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $372.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $398.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.32.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 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).