Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Boosted by Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,883 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.0% of Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $400.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $447.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $485.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wedbush cut their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short-term AI worry eased after comments from Anthropic that tempered fears about AI displacing enterprise software, giving MSFT shares an immediate lift. Microsoft Stock Climbs After AI Fears Ease on Anthropic’s Comments
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its global connectivity push via a partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink (Orbital AI access), which supports Azure edge/sovereign-cloud use cases and broadens market reach in underserved regions. Microsoft and SpaceX’s Starlink partner on global community internet effort
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying and technical oversold signals were highlighted by market commentators, supporting a narrative that the recent pullback may be overdone and attracting value buyers. Microsoft Is Sliding—An Insider Buy and Oversold Signals Are Changing the Setup
• Positive Sentiment: The White House invited major cloud/AI players including Microsoft to a power-cost pledge, a policy development that could ease data‑center energy risk and improve investor confidence around operating costs. White House to host Big Tech in pledge to rein in power costs
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is among strategic backers of autonomous‑driving firm Wayve’s latest funding round — a signal of continued venture activity and ecosystem bets, but limited near‑term revenue impact. Nvidia, Microsoft back self-driving firm Wayve as it hits $8.6 billion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership changes in Xbox (Asha Sharma replacing Phil Spencer) tie gaming more directly to Microsoft’s AI/cloud strategy — strategically relevant but unlikely to move near-term financials materially. Microsoft Gaming Shift As Asha Sharma Reshapes Xbox And AI Role
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s Fair Trade Commission reportedly raided Microsoft Japan over suspected anti‑monopoly issues tied to Azure — a regulatory probe that could create legal costs, business disruption or reputational risk if escalated. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, Nikkei says
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile critics and media voices (e.g., Jim Cramer) called for a “refresh” at Microsoft, adding negative narrative pressure amid the stock’s selloff and keeping sentiment fragile. Microsoft (MSFT) Needs a Refresh, Says Jim Cramer
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry’s public accusation about aggressive accounting at big tech (including MSFT) can amplify worries about transparency and AI‑capex accounting, potentially weighing on sentiment if the narrative gains traction. Michael Burry Warns MSFT, GOOG, META Are Using ‘Sinister’ Accounting To Hide AI Costs

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).