Quattro Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 10,008 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Quattro Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 21.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,388 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,008 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 9.2% of Quattro Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 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: 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

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $459.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $483.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $502.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $630.37.

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).