Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Has $176.80 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 341,344 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,147 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.8% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $176,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,008,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Microsoft by 27.8% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 29,321 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,187,000 after purchasing an additional 6,376 shares during the period. PUREfi Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 10,785 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,586,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. CV Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. CV Advisors LLC now owns 35,955 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,623,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 9,772 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,061,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7%

Microsoft stock opened at $459.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $483.97 and its 200 day moving average is $502.58. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and Street optimism — Wedbush’s Dan Ives and others are positioning Microsoft as set for strong Q4 results tied to AI/cloud momentum, helping lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Dan Ives: Very Strong Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Broker reaffirmation — Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating and high $650 target based on survey data showing rising enterprise software spend, supporting longer‑term upside expectations. Morgan Stanley Overweight
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI monetization boost — OpenAI’s worldwide rollout of the lower‑cost ChatGPT Go subscription expands the addressable market for AI services where Microsoft has strategic exposure, lifting revenue hopes. OpenAI ChatGPT Go Worldwide
• Positive Sentiment: Data‑center expansion/community plan — News of a $500M–$1B Michigan data‑center push and Microsoft’s “community‑first” messaging shows continued capex to support Azure/AI growth, which investors view as reinforcing future revenue streams despite near‑term costs. Michigan Data Center Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/short‑term rebound thesis — Some analysts note MSFT is oversold and could see a technical bounce ahead of earnings, which supports trading interest but is not a fundamental catalyst. Zacks: Ripe for Turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor operational housekeeping — The company closed some on‑campus libraries, a small cost/real‑estate move that got attention but is unlikely to materially affect earnings. MSFT Shuts Libraries
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory probe into Activision Blizzard — Italy opened investigations into alleged “misleading and aggressive” in‑game purchase practices for Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal, creating reputational and potential financial risk for MSFT’s gaming unit. Italy Investigates Activision
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk from Musk trial — A judge cleared Elon Musk’s suit against OpenAI and Microsoft to proceed to a jury trial in April, introducing headline legal overhang and potential distraction/costs. Musk Trial Moves Forward
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny and analyst trim — Switzerland opened a probe into Microsoft’s licensing fees and Barclays lowered its price target, both adding near‑term headwinds to sentiment amid capex worries and noted insider selling. Swiss Probe into Licensing Fees

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn restated a “neutral” rating and set a $500.00 price target (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $630.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).