Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Meritas Wealth Management LLC

Meritas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,181 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.6% of Meritas Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Meritas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 564,387.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $45,040,162,000 after buying an additional 90,533,328 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stores Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO-led shakeup to accelerate AI execution — reports say Satya Nadella reorganized senior leadership to inject urgency into Microsoft’s AI push, a move investors view as supportive for faster Copilot/Azure monetization. Microsoft CEO Injects ‘Sense of Urgency’ Into AI Efforts
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullish on 2026 AI upside — several analyst notes and forecasts point to a large AI-driven revenue lift (one headline cites a ~30% upside scenario), supporting investor optimism about multiple expansion if AI monetization becomes visible. Microsoft Stock Forecast: Why Wall Street Sees a 30% AI-Fueled Jump for MSFT in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot / Dynamics 365 & Azure adoption remain tangible growth levers — Dynamics 365 and Copilot adoption are cited as drivers of enterprise seat upgrades and cloud consumption, underpinning recurring revenue and higher ARPU potential. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox Cloud Gaming exits beta — cloud gaming availability for Game Pass subscribers can broaden engagement and recurring revenue in Microsoft’s gaming segment (service-led monetization vs. one-time hardware cycles). Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Announces Availability of Xbox Cloud Gaming
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy and hiring tailwinds — new federal bill (AI Talent Act) aims to streamline AI hiring across agencies; long term this could ease talent constraints for cloud/AI vendors but has limited near-term revenue impact. New Bill: Representative Sara Jacobs introduces H.R. 6573: AI Talent Act
• Neutral Sentiment: ESG recognition may broaden buyer base — Microsoft shows up on 2026 ESG stock lists, which can attract allocation from sustainability-focused funds but is not a primary earnings driver. 3 ESG Stocks to Add to Your Portfolio for Sustainable Returns in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: High AI capex and spending scrutiny — analysts are questioning whether massive AI investments across the Magnificent Seven will pressure free cash flow and near-term margins; this keeps upside tied to visible monetization of AI features. Buy Stock in the Mag 7 Hyperscalers or Are They Spending Too Much?
• Negative Sentiment: Hardware supply issues risk gaming timing — “RAMpocalypse” reports indicate potential delays for next-gen consoles, which could push Xbox hardware revenue further out (though Microsoft’s services exposure cushions the impact). What the RAMpocalypse Means for Sony’s PlayStation 6 & Microsoft’s (MSFT) Next Xbox

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $639.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $500.00 price objective (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $487.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $495.96 and a 200-day moving average of $504.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).