Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 658,099 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,003 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.3% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $340,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional 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. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $487.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $497.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $503.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.07. 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 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $560.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.03.

Key Stores Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile bullish analyst coverage and “breakout” 2026 thesis that support upside for MSFT and long‑term AI monetization. Why Analysts See 2026 as a Breakout Year for Microsoft Stock (MSFT)
• Positive Sentiment: Firm bullish pieces arguing Microsoft is positioned for strong AI‑driven growth (OpenAI stake + Azure momentum), which supports a buy‑and‑hold case. Microsoft Positioned For Strong Growth
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Microsoft’s entrenched enterprise moat and high switching costs — a defensive argument underpinning revenue durability and premium multiples. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away
• Neutral Sentiment: Inclusion on “3 cloud stocks to buy” lists (alongside AMZN/GOOGL) reinforces Microsoft’s exposure to a potential cloud/AI cycle but is broad‑market, not MSFT‑specific. 3 Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy Before 2026 as Digital Demand Soars
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — some analysts argue MSFT is a “compounder at any price,” others recommend accumulating slowly due to rich multiples and heavy capex; this is keeping some investors on the sidelines. Microsoft Faces a Key Question: Compounder at Any Price or Accumulate Slowly
• Neutral Sentiment: Options “whale” activity shows large positioning in MSFT — could signal directional conviction but not definitive on sentiment. Monitor flows for confirmation. Check Out What Whales Are Doing With MSFT
• Negative Sentiment: NVIDIA’s $20B Groq deal strengthens a competitor’s inference‑speed lead — a direct long‑term threat to Azure/AI hosting economics as inference demand grows; this likely weighs on MSFT sentiment today. NVIDIA’s $20B Groq Deal Is a Warning Shot to AI Rivals (MSFT)
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns about Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI and Copilot adoption (reports that drove a recent pullback) are pressuring sentiment — execution and partner dynamics are key near‑term risks. Microsoft (MSFT) Fell Due to Concerns About Its Relationship With OpenAI
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting the stock looks “pricey” and that heavy data‑center capex could pressure margins/returns in the near term — a valuation headwind for momentum investors. Microsoft May Look Pricey, But Customers Can’t Walk Away

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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).