Dara Capital US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,029 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,268,000. Microsoft accounts for about 6.4% of Dara Capital US Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.67.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Microsoft Stock Performance
MSFT stock opened at $407.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $395.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $448.37. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and AI/cloud momentum — MSFT beat EPS and revenue expectations, Azure/cloud growth accelerated ~40% and management cited an AI revenue run‑rate near $37B, supporting the long‑term growth story. Microsoft Q3 press release and transcript
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts largely remain bullish — multiple firms reaffirmed Buy/Outperform ratings and some raised targets (Wells Fargo, Piper Sandler and others), reflecting confidence in Azure and AI monetization. Microsoft Wins Buy Rating on Strong AI-Driven Cloud Momentum
- Positive Sentiment: Product traction: Copilot & LinkedIn monetization — management said paid Copilot users and LinkedIn AI hiring products are scaling, which supports higher recurring AI revenue potential. Microsoft says it has over 20m paid Copilot users
- Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is split — some firms trimmed targets on valuation/spending concerns while others lifted targets on stronger AI monetization; expect continued divergent analyst commentary and price‑target revisions. Wall Street Splits on Microsoft After Earnings
- Neutral Sentiment: Options activity shows speculative bullish interest — unusually large call volume suggests some traders are betting on a rebound even as the stock trades lower (this can amplify intraday moves).
- Negative Sentiment: Heavy capex & margin/cash‑flow concerns — MSFT raised 2026 capex guidance toward ~\$190B and noted a meaningful jump in infrastructure spending; investors sold into the beat, fearing pressure on free cash flow and near‑term returns. Microsoft Falls 5% Despite Q3 Beat: Why $190 Billion in AI Spending Has Investors Worried
- Negative Sentiment: Near‑term target trims and one‑time charges — several firms trimmed targets and Microsoft disclosed charges (e.g., voluntary retirement program) and other near‑term costs, adding to headline risk. Cantor Fitzgerald Cuts Microsoft Price Target
Microsoft Profile
(
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).
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