Ascentis Independent Advisors Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ascentis Independent Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 80.1% in the first quarter, buying 34,805 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 78,250 shares worth about $28.97 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw broad institutional and analyst support, with 71.13% of shares held by institutions and a consensus Wall Street rating of Moderate Buy alongside a price target of $557.96.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share payable on September 10.

Ascentis Independent Advisors boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 80.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,250 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 34,805 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.2% of Ascentis Independent Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Ascentis Independent Advisors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $28,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in Microsoft by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 382,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $141,743,000 after acquiring an additional 21,251 shares during the period. Seascape Capital Management raised its holdings in Microsoft by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 8,911 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 5,773 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 27,910 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,331,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 85,118 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,508,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upgraded Microsoft from a "market outperform" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $557.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $400.28 and a 200 day moving average of $411.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft's Nadella rips Anthropic's Fable restrictions in staff meeting: 'Doesn't make sense'
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

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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