Busey Bank Has $249.92 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Busey Bank lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 482,507 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 7.0% of Busey Bank’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Busey Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $249,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 900,623 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $466,478,000 after acquiring an additional 21,030 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $457,000. SFM LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. SFM LLC now owns 19,738 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,223,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,187 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,117,000 after purchasing an additional 11,507 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Council LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Council LLC now owns 10,740 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,563,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly bullish on MSFT — analysts and outlets label Microsoft a top pick for 2026 and a “strong buy,” citing AI monetization and cloud durability as drivers of upside. Wall Street Says Microsoft Is a ‘Strong Buy.’ Let’s Look at Who Owns MSFT Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts publicly prefer Microsoft over Google in the AI race, arguing MSFT’s Azure and partnerships reduce downside risk versus peers — a positive signal for longer‑term market share and revenue capture. Why This Analyst Prefers Microsoft Over Google In The AI Race
• Positive Sentiment: Debt and cash flow profile supports sustained AI investment — several writeups (including MarketBeat roundups) say MSFT’s balance sheet makes elevated CapEx manageable and that recent pullbacks are “buyable dips.” Beyond the Santa Claus Rally—5 Quality Stocks to Buy in 2026 (MSFT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis pieces (e.g., Seeking Alpha) argue raised CapEx for AI isn’t a major concern versus future ROI, positioning MSFT as still relatively cheap on an AI-adjusted basis — a mixed read that keeps volatility likely while fundamentals mature. Microsoft: AI Superpower Still Cheap – Raised Capex Not A Big Concern
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term selling pressure is coming from investors reassessing Microsoft’s AI edge versus Alphabet/Google — uncertainty over who will monetize AI faster is prompting profit‑taking and weighing on the stock. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Moves Lower As Investors Assess Its AI Edge Against Google
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market action is mixed — the Nasdaq was roughly flat while indexes rotated — and Microsoft’s size makes it a significant weight on the tech‑heavy index, magnifying any MSFT weakness for the session. How major US stock indexes fared Friday, 1/2/2026

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $682.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $472.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $493.47 and its 200-day moving average is $504.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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).