24,421 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Aventura Private Wealth LLC

Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,421 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.2% of Aventura Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BofA reinstated coverage with a Buy and a $500 price target, highlighting Azure and Copilot as drivers for multiyear upside. BofA Projects 31% Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Nvidia unveiled an AI partnership aimed at accelerating nuclear-energy design and operations — a potential new commercial use case that underscores enterprise AI tailwinds. Microsoft, Nvidia Team Up To Build AI-Powered Nuclear Energy Future
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership and HR changes (including the departure of Microsoft’s diversity chief and a wider HR reorganization) are underway — operationally important but with an unclear near-term impact on revenue. Microsoft’s diversity chief is leaving
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch reports this is MSFT’s worst quarter in 17 years, citing weak near-term trends in cloud and software that may not be quickly fixed — a primary driver of negative sentiment. Microsoft’s stock is having its worst quarter in 17 years
• Negative Sentiment: UBS trimmed its 12‑month price target (from $600 to $510), flagging investor scrutiny on M365 and Copilot monetization — a sign analysts see slower near-term upside even if long‑term views remain constructive. Microsoft price target lowered on M365, Copilot questions
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s investor document lists heavy reliance on Microsoft for financing and compute as a top risk — this disclosure increases perceived counterparty/partner concentration risk. OpenAI Flags Microsoft as ‘Top Risk’
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting Copilot retention/monetization issues and rising AI infrastructure spending suggests the stock will need clearer product traction or margin evidence to resume a sustainable rally. Microsoft Shows “Sense of Urgency,” But MSFT Stock Will Only Rally on This Condition

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $371.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $413.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $469.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

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).