Ares Financial Consulting LLC Takes $1.76 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ares Financial Consulting LLC opened a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 3,632 shares worth about $1.76 million. Microsoft now ranks as the firm’s 15th largest holding and makes up about 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Other institutional investors also boosted or initiated stakes in Microsoft, and overall institutional ownership stands at 71.13%. That suggests continued broad interest from hedge funds and large money managers.
• Microsoft’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $4.27 versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. Analysts remain constructive overall, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $560.88.

Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,632 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,757,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.6% of Ares Financial Consulting LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,126 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,027,311 shares of the software giant's stock worth $980,448,000 after purchasing an additional 60,561 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 205,555 shares of the software giant's stock worth $99,411,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,346 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $9,958,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents 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

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. New Street Research cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a large new Microsoft stake, signaling strong confidence in MSFT’s long-term AI and cloud growth prospects. Billionaire Bill Ackman Just Made a Massive Bet on Microsoft. Here's Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term compounder, with some saying the stock looks cheaper than it has in years on a cash-flow basis. Is Microsoft Stock a Steal Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Microsoft’s move away from an overly dependent OpenAI relationship could be beneficial over time because customers increasingly want access to multiple AI models rather than one exclusive partner. Why Microsoft's Split With OpenAI May Be Great for the Stock in the Long Run

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $399.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $436.24. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Microsoft Company 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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