Asempa Wealth Advisors Takes Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Asempa Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,547 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.5% of Asempa Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $356.77 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $409.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.65. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. 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, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street analysts still see large upside for MSFT, arguing the pullback may be overdone and presenting a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. Wall Street Says Microsoft Stock Has 89% Rebound Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental revenue drivers remain: LinkedIn ad growth and marketing solutions are cited as near‑term revenue positives that help offset AI spending concerns. Microsoft Benefits From LinkedIn Ad Growth: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has implemented targeted hiring freezes in major cloud and North American sales groups while keeping AI and engineering hiring active — a cost‑management move that highlights prioritization of AI infrastructure but leaves uncertainty over near‑term sales execution. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups, The Information reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion continues: third‑party partner Crusoe announced a 900 MW AI campus in Abilene, Texas to support large‑scale workloads for Microsoft — this reinforces demand for hyperscale capacity even as investors debate ROI timing. Crusoe Announces New 900 MW AI Factory Campus in Abilene, Texas to Support Microsoft AI Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative has flipped: analysts and commentary say Microsoft is “losing the AI narrative,” and technical indicators show the stock at decade‑low oversold levels — fueling momentum selling. Microsoft’s stock hasn’t been this oversold in a decade, with the tech giant ‘really losing the AI narrative’
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI capex and execution concerns: multiple reports highlight Microsoft’s very large AI spending (reports cite ~$30B per quarter-level scale), slowing Copilot adoption vs. expectations, and the stock is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 — pressuring valuations and near‑term sentiment. Microsoft Is Down 24% This Year While Spending $30B a Quarter on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks are rising: OpenAI and other AI firms (including reports of Anthropic eyeing an IPO) are evolving relationships and competition that could reduce Microsoft’s exclusive leverage in parts of the AI stack. Anthropic eyes IPO, Microsoft stock set for worst quarter since 2008

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).