Strategic Planning Group LLC Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Strategic Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 62,712 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,389 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.4% of Strategic Planning Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 155.7% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild Redb lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $612.58.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.2%

MSFT opened at $480.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $477.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $500.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 200 AI chip launch: Microsoft unveiled a second‑generation inference accelerator that management says cuts inference cost and power per query — a direct lever to improve Azure/Copilot margins as AI usage scales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large data‑center approvals: Mount Pleasant, Wis., board approved plans for 15 additional data centers (multi‑billion dollar project); expands capacity to meet AI demand and supports long‑term Azure revenue growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cloud / AI momentum into earnings: Multiple previews highlight robust Azure growth and Copilot monetization as the primary upside drivers for revenue and guidance sensitivity. Investors expect management commentary on monetization and backlog. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning ahead of Q2: Analysts and traders are pricing in a high‑expectations earnings event where forward guidance will likely matter more than the headline quarter. Watch capex/guidance language. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholder returns: Microsoft announced its first 2026 dividend payment date — supports income investors but has limited near‑term price impact vs. AI narrative. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst concern on margins/CAPEX: Stifel lowered its price target citing near‑term margin pressure from elevated AI spend; other firms have trimmed targets or reiterated caution ahead of guidance. That raises downside risk if management signals continued heavy spend. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Environmental & regulatory/ESG scrutiny: Reporting flags rising water use at AI data centers — a potential regulatory/community constraint and reputational risk that could affect future site approvals and costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/third‑party AI risk: A class action tied to an AI hiring tool used by Big Tech (including Microsoft customers) underscores litigation and compliance risks around AI deployments. Read More.

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).