<div id="readability-page-1">Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,934 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.6% of Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.<ul><li>Is the AI Boom a Bubble? These 2 Dividend Stocks Say No</li></ul>Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. <h2>Key Stores Impacting Microsoft</h2>Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:<ul> <li>Positive Sentiment: Analysts and coverage point to improving AI economics — reports say Azure AI margins are positive and revenue is likely to beat estimates, supporting near-term earnings upside and giving investors confidence in cloud monetization. Azure AI margins article</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: Microsoft pledged $17.5 billion of investment in AI and cloud infrastructure in India — a large, long-term growth initiative that should expand Azure adoption and enterprise spending in a major emerging market. India investment article</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: New enterprise partnerships (Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro) and a Cognizant-led push to scale Microsoft 365/GitHub Copilot &amp; agentic AI deployments could accelerate commercial adoption and drive higher software and Azure consumption. Partnerships article</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: Microsoft joined the U.S. “Genesis Mission” AI initiative alongside top AI firms — positioning MSFT to capture government and scientific AI spend and reinforcing strategic leadership in national AI programs. Genesis Mission article</li> <li>Positive Sentiment: Partner-channel and device news helped sentiment — LG’s reported backpedal on making Copilot mandatory drove a small positive knee-jerk move, easing concerns about forced integrations and signaling partner flexibility. LG Copilot article</li> <li>Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary frames MSFT as a durable AI/dividend play — pieces highlighting dividend/long-term strength keep buy-and-hold narratives alive but are unlikely to move price materially on their own. MarketBeat dividend article</li> <li>Neutral Sentiment: Consumer-product updates (Office 2024 upgrade) and legacy product refreshes support steady software sales, but are lower-impact versus cloud/AI developments. Office 2024 article</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Jim Cramer warned that Microsoft “requires mass spending” to keep Azure competitive — a direct headline that reinforces investor worries about rising capex and margin pressure as MSFT scales data centers and AI infrastructure. Cramer spending article</li> <li>Negative Sentiment: Broader AI/tech jitters and commentary about “ballooning” capex have pressured the stock in recent weeks; that narrative could cap multiple expansion until evidence of durable margin recovery is clear. CapEx concerns article</li> </ul><h2>Insider Activity at Microsoft</h2><ul><li>MRVL, AMZN and MSFT: Breaking Down the Wall Street Controversy</li></ul>In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock. <h2>Microsoft Stock Performance</h2>NASDAQ MSFT opened at $485.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $499.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.02. <ul><li>Oracle Stock Hit Hard: Why Its AI Pipeline Could Drive a 2026 Rally</li></ul>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year. <h2>Microsoft Announces Dividend</h2>The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.89%. <h2>Analysts Set New Price Targets</h2>A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho downgraded Microsoft from a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Rothschild &amp; Co Redburn reissued a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and issued a $500.00 price target (down from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Arete Research increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average target price of $631.03.Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT<h2>About Microsoft</h2> (Free Report)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).<h2>Recommended Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Microsoft</li><li>Best ESG Stocks: 11 Best Stocks for ESG Investing</li><li>These 3 Banks Are Rallying Into Year-End, But Will It Continue?</li><li>Asset Allocation Strategies in Volatile Markets</li><li>3 Surging Stocks Just Got the Ultimate Stamp of Approval From the S&amp;P 500</li><li>3 Monster Growth Stocks to Buy Now</li><li>This ETF Caught a Major Tailwind After the Fed’s Rate Cut</li></ul><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA"/>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.<h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Microsoft Right Now?</h2>Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.While Microsoft currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.View The Five Stocks Here </div>

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Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 8.7% in Q3, owning 16,934 shares worth $8.77 million. Other investors also adjusted their positions in MSFT. Positive sentiment surrounds Microsoft's AI and cloud initiatives, while concerns about capex and margin pressure persist. Insider activity includes stock sales by EVP Takeshi Numoto and CEO Judson Althoff.

- Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 8.7%, owning 16,934 shares valued at $8,771,000.  
- Several institutional investors also adjusted their Microsoft positions, with notable increases from Longfellow Investment Management and Westend Capital Management.  
- Analysts highlight positive AI margins and investments in India as supporting factors for Microsoft's near-term earnings and cloud revenue growth.

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Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC