16,868 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Jones Kertz & Associates Inc.

Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,868 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,158,000. Microsoft comprises about 4.2% of Jones Kertz & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is drawing bullish attention after news that its MDASH cybersecurity system outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI in a key test, reinforcing the company’s AI leadership and enterprise security story.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and Phillip Securities both reiterated or upgraded Microsoft with bullish ratings, with fresh price targets suggesting meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced Carmine Di Sibio, former EY chairman and CEO, has joined its board of directors, which may be viewed as a governance and strategic-strengthening move.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is pursuing AI startup acquisitions beyond OpenAI suggest management is preparing new growth drivers and reducing reliance on a single AI partner.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Microsoft’s expanding AI revenue run rate and ongoing enterprise adoption, which continue to support the long-term growth narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship, including a possible revenue-sharing cap and testimony from Satya Nadella, but the market impact is still uncertain until more deal details become public.
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn’s planned 5% workforce reduction may help margins, but it also signals ongoing restructuring across Microsoft’s ecosystem rather than a clear near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. competition regulator launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s business software dominance, raising the risk of future restrictions in Office, cloud, and AI-related distribution.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of browser-tab data collection in Microsoft Edge could add privacy concerns around Copilot and AI memory features, potentially increasing scrutiny of Microsoft’s consumer AI products.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing headlines about elevated AI spending, OpenAI-related trial testimony, and investor caution around capex may keep pressure on sentiment until Microsoft proves the returns on its AI investments.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $409.43 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $441.52.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).