Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 374,629 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 6,426 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $181,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IRON Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $422.79 on Friday. 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 $355.67 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $391.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.48. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Microsoft from $659.00 to $556.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fairwater AI data center in Wisconsin went live ahead of schedule, a tangible execution win that eases near‑term capacity concerns and signals Microsoft is accelerating AI infrastructure deployment — a direct positive for Azure AI revenue prospects. Microsoft stock jumps as AI data center goes live
• Positive Sentiment: Large enterprise partnerships and marketplace integrations broaden Azure adoption: Stellantis signed a five‑year AI/cloud deal and Expert.ai’s EidenAI Suite is now on Azure Marketplace — both expand addressable enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud + Copilot stack. Stellantis, Microsoft sign five-year partnership Expert.ai and Microsoft Italy announce collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Government and regulatory adoption — the CFTC is using Microsoft Copilot/AI tools for surveillance, a sign that public‑sector adoption of Microsoft AI products is rising and provides a durable revenue cohort. CFTC Uses Microsoft AI Tools
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst moves are mixed: TD Cowen lowered its price target to $540 but kept a Buy rating (maintains bullish long‑term view despite trimming upside), while other firms have grown cautious — watch revisions for near‑term momentum. TD Cowen price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/earnings calendar: investors are watching fiscal Q3 results (Apr 29) for signs AI spend is translating into accelerating Azure revenue and Copilot monetization; near‑term volatility could persist into the print. Microsoft eyes AI execution, Azure growth
• Negative Sentiment: Industry capacity risk: Financial Times reports delays on a sizeable share of U.S. data‑center builds (affecting multiple players), underscoring supply‑chain and permitting risks that could constrain AI rollout timing and margin recovery. Data centre delays threaten to choke AI expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary and downside scenarios remain: some analysts and opinion pieces argue MSFT still faces near‑term growth/valuation risks (including calls for deeper corrections), so rallies could be met with profit‑taking until clearer proof of AI monetization appears. Microsoft: Don’t Buy The Dip

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).