44 Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,580 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• 44 Wealth Management increased its Microsoft stake by 4.1% in the first quarter, owning 40,419 shares valued at approximately $14.96 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $559.16.
• Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a $3.64 annualized payout and a 0.7% yield. Meanwhile, insiders have sold 38,572 shares worth $17.78 million over the past 90 days.

44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,419 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.2% of 44 Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. 44 Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van Diest Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 128.8% in the first quarter. Van Diest Capital LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,978,000 after acquiring an additional 7,571 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA boosted its position in Microsoft by 7.5% during the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 341,058 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $126,249,000 after purchasing an additional 23,686 shares during the last quarter. Mustico Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 21.7% in the first quarter. Mustico Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,477 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,152,000. Finally, Unio Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Unio Capital LLC now owns 121,057 shares of the software giant's stock worth $44,812,000 after purchasing an additional 29,615 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest earnings showed stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue, with Azure growth and Copilot adoption reinforcing the view that substantial AI investment is beginning to generate returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors continue to favor Microsoft over some other mega-cap technology names. Hedge Funds Favor Microsoft Over Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target to $660 and maintained an Outperform rating, arguing that Microsoft’s data-center expansion is measured, flexible, and supported by durable cloud demand. Other analysts also identified Azure growth, backlog, and institutional buying as potential catalysts for a year-end rally. Bernstein Raises Microsoft Target
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may unveil its Maia 300 AI chip as early as September and secure production capacity for more than 300,000 units could reduce reliance on Nvidia processors, lower long-term AI costs, and support Microsoft’s cloud strategy. Microsoft Maia 300 Chip Report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $559.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $407.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $407.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

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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