Aprio Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,631 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 4.6% in Q4, buying 1,631 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 36,714 shares worth about $17.76 million.
• Institutional ownership in Microsoft remains very high, with the article noting that 71.13% of the stock is held by institutions. Several other hedge funds also modestly added to their positions.
• Analysts remain constructive on MSFT, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating; the company is also benefiting from multiple AI-related catalysts such as Anthropic chip talks, ChatGPT integration into PowerPoint, and a $1 billion EY partnership.

Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,714 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.1% of Aprio Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Aprio Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was 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 represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company'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 value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Arete Research lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly deepening its AI strategy through talks with Anthropic over use of its Maia AI chips, which could expand demand for Microsoft’s custom silicon and strengthen its position in AI infrastructure. Anthropic in talks to use Microsoft's AI chips, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s reported integration of ChatGPT into Microsoft PowerPoint highlights tighter product tie-ins that could boost adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot and broader enterprise AI usage. ChatGPT Lands in Microsoft PowerPoint
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and EY announced a $1 billion partnership to accelerate corporate AI adoption, reinforcing expectations that Microsoft can monetize AI across large enterprise customers. Microsoft and EY Team to Promote Corporate AI Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles and analyst notes framed MSFT as an undervalued momentum name with AI catalysts building, including RBC reiterating a buy rating, which may be supporting shares. Microsoft had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank Of Canada
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is undergoing an internal AI-era leadership reset, including the planned departure of longtime executive Yusuf Mehdi, which signals strategic change but also adds some organizational uncertainty. Microsoft veteran executive Yusuf Mehdi is leaving after the next fiscal year
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage focused on Microsoft’s GitHub outages and higher AI operating costs, raising questions about execution, infrastructure strain, and whether AI usage is becoming too expensive to scale smoothly. Microsoft's GitHub was positioned to win the AI coding race. Outages got in the way
• Negative Sentiment: The Gates Foundation’s sale of its remaining Microsoft stake was a headline overhang, though it appears more like portfolio rebalancing than a direct read on Microsoft’s fundamentals. The Gates Foundation Sold All of Its Remaining Microsoft Stock. Should Investors Be Worried?

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.57 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $399.38 and a 200 day moving average of $436.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 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 released its 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 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

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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