Marino Stram & Associates LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,349 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.0% of Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reiterated a Buy on Microsoft, highlighting continued Copilot adoption and strong Azure growth as reasons the company can outpace the recent sell-off. Microsoft in focus as Citi reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares (~$2M), a behavioral vote of confidence that can help stabilize sentiment among retail/institutional investors. Microsoft Director John Stanton Buys 5,000 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s extended OpenAI revenue arrangement (locking a meaningful share of OpenAI output through 2032) is a multi-year revenue and strategic moat tailwind for AI monetization. As Microsoft extends 20% OpenAI deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a large long-term commitment to expand AI access in the Global South (reported ~$50B), a growth opportunity that also implies heavy multi-year capex and execution risk. Microsoft to invest $50B in Global South AI push
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships and marketplace traction (e.g., CrowdStrike on Microsoft Marketplace) reinforce enterprise ecosystem stickiness but have limited immediate revenue impact. Falcon on Microsoft Marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change in gaming: Phil Spencer’s immediate retirement and replacement by Asha Sharma introduces near-term uncertainty for Xbox strategy and investor confidence in the gaming unit. Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer retires
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel downgraded MSFT (Buy→Hold) and cut its price target, citing Azure supply constraints as a near-term growth headwind — a concrete analyst call that can pressure flows and justify further volatility. Stifel flags Azure supply constraints
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh AI quality/security reports (Copilot/Office bug and “AI recommendation poisoning” threats) raise short-term adoption and reputational risk that could delay enterprise deployments and weigh on sentiment. AI recommendation poisoning concerns

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MSFT opened at $397.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $452.13 and its 200-day moving average is $487.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

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).