11,382 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Financial Plan Inc.

Key Points

• Financial Plan Inc. opened a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 11,382 shares valued at about $5.5 million. Microsoft now represents roughly 0.6% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Microsoft’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $560.88. Recent activity included a director buying shares and an EVP selling shares, while institutional ownership remains high at 71.13%.

Financial Plan Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,382 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $5,505,000. Microsoft makes up about 0.6% of Financial Plan Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 31,758 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,444,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 28,689 shares of the software giant's stock worth $13,875,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 15,447 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,470,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 62,162 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,393,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 9,401 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,547,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.1%

MSFT opened at $421.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $398.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $441.39. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

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).

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