Benin Management CORP Purchases 8,543 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Benin Management CORP boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,024 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,543 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 8.1% of Benin Management CORP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,505 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 4,906 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 105,166 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $50,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares during the period. Finally, Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 12,667 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,126,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $369.37 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $404.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. New Street Research lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large Asia infrastructure commitments: Microsoft said it will invest about $5.5B in Singapore and $1B in Thailand to build cloud and AI data‑center capacity, strengthening long‑term revenue visibility for Azure and enterprise AI services. WSJ: Microsoft Plans to Invest $5.5 Billion in Singapore
• Positive Sentiment: Energy supply de‑risking for AI buildout: Microsoft entered an exclusivity deal with Chevron and Engine No. 1 to explore a ~2.5GW (potentially 5GW) gas‑powered complex in West Texas to power large data centers — a strategic move to secure power and reduce one key constraint on AI scaling. Reuters: Microsoft, Chevron and Engine No. 1 sign exclusive deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing and higher targets: Multiple firms initiated or raised coverage (Benchmark buy initiation, New Street target hike and other bullish notes), keeping a majority of analysts constructive and implying significant upside from current levels. This institutional support can cushion near‑term downside. Yahoo Finance: What Do Analysts Say About Microsoft?
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance and safety moves: Microsoft unveiled new AI tools (a “Critique and Council” approach) aimed at improving model oversight and trust — helpful for long‑term adoption but unlikely to move near‑term revenue. Yahoo: Microsoft Just Unveiled New AI Tools
• Neutral Sentiment: Org restructure for AI: Microsoft reshuffled its AI org to consolidate go‑to‑market and product execution — a long‑term constructive step but with execution risk during the transition. Fool: Microsoft Reshuffled Its Entire AI Organization
• Negative Sentiment: Weak quarterly reaction and ROI concerns: Investors punished the stock after Q1, calling out elevated capex for AI, slower Copilot adoption and uncertainty over the return on massive infrastructure spending — the core reason for the recent pullback. CNBC: Microsoft closes worst quarter since 2008
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/competition risk: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has launched a probe into Microsoft’s business‑software ecosystem and cloud licensing, adding litigation and regulatory overhang. Reuters: UK to launch antitrust probe into Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and sentiment pressures: The stock recently breached its 200‑week moving average and suffered heavy dip selling; social‑media and technical chatter is amplifying downside risk in the short term. Insider sales are also noted in public filings. QuiverQuant: Opinions on Breaching 200‑Week Moving Average

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).