Apella Capital LLC Acquires 18,735 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 18.3% in the first quarter, buying 18,735 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 121,363 shares valued at about $44.9 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support, with institutions owning 71.13% of the stock and Wall Street maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $560.86.
• The company recently reported solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share payable on September 10.

Apella Capital LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,363 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 18,735 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $44,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued strength in Microsoft’s Azure cloud and AI businesses, with bullish commentary saying demand remains robust and that the recent selloff may be creating a more attractive entry point. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors cited Microsoft’s security business as a potential growth driver, while recent partnership news and product integrations suggest the company is still expanding its enterprise ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street coverage remained constructive, with firms such as Deutsche Bank and Erste Group lifting their outlooks, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s long-term earnings power remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced product and ecosystem updates, including a new Marketplace listing and broader AI/security-related integrations, which are supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several opinion pieces argued the stock may be oversold and could rebound, but these were largely valuation-driven commentary rather than new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed scrutiny over AI spending, with multiple stories noting the stock’s sharp June decline as investors worry that massive AI capex is not translating into profits quickly enough. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms and reports flagged securities-fraud class actions tied to alleged misstatements about Copilot and Azure, adding legal uncertainty and potential headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of another round of job cuts and from antitrust attention in Europe, both of which can weigh on sentiment even if they help costs over time. Article Title

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $373.02 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $408.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.37. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft 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).

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