Meritas Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,428 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Meritas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 30.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,181 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.6% of Meritas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Meritas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,816,000 after buying an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $457,119,000 after acquiring an additional 33,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 285,163 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO-led shakeup to accelerate AI execution — reports say Satya Nadella reorganized senior leadership to inject urgency into Microsoft’s AI push, a move investors view as supportive for faster Copilot/Azure monetization. Microsoft CEO Injects ‘Sense of Urgency’ Into AI Efforts
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullish on 2026 AI upside — several analyst notes and forecasts point to a large AI-driven revenue lift (one headline cites a ~30% upside scenario), supporting investor optimism about multiple expansion if AI monetization becomes visible. Microsoft Stock Forecast: Why Wall Street Sees a 30% AI-Fueled Jump for MSFT in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot / Dynamics 365 & Azure adoption remain tangible growth levers — Dynamics 365 and Copilot adoption are cited as drivers of enterprise seat upgrades and cloud consumption, underpinning recurring revenue and higher ARPU potential. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox Cloud Gaming exits beta — cloud gaming availability for Game Pass subscribers can broaden engagement and recurring revenue in Microsoft’s gaming segment (service-led monetization vs. one-time hardware cycles). Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Announces Availability of Xbox Cloud Gaming
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy and hiring tailwinds — new federal bill (AI Talent Act) aims to streamline AI hiring across agencies; long term this could ease talent constraints for cloud/AI vendors but has limited near-term revenue impact. New Bill: Representative Sara Jacobs introduces H.R. 6573: AI Talent Act
• Neutral Sentiment: ESG recognition may broaden buyer base — Microsoft shows up on 2026 ESG stock lists, which can attract allocation from sustainability-focused funds but is not a primary earnings driver. 3 ESG Stocks to Add to Your Portfolio for Sustainable Returns in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: High AI capex and spending scrutiny — analysts are questioning whether massive AI investments across the Magnificent Seven will pressure free cash flow and near-term margins; this keeps upside tied to visible monetization of AI features. Buy Stock in the Mag 7 Hyperscalers or Are They Spending Too Much?
• Negative Sentiment: Hardware supply issues risk gaming timing — “RAMpocalypse” reports indicate potential delays for next-gen consoles, which could push Xbox hardware revenue further out (though Microsoft’s services exposure cushions the impact). What the RAMpocalypse Means for Sony’s PlayStation 6 & Microsoft’s (MSFT) Next Xbox

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $487.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $495.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $504.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).