Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Buys Shares of 4,649 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought 4,649 shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter, a stake worth about $2.25 million. Microsoft now makes up about 1.5% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Microsoft continues to attract major institutional interest, with institutions holding 71.13% of the company’s stock. Large investors like Vanguard, Norges Bank, and others have also recently added or increased positions.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.27 versus estimates of $4.06 and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11.

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,649 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,248,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.5% of Aurora Private Wealth Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $450.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $402.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $434.62.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Nvidia teased “a new era of PC,” with reports pointing to new Surface hardware and a possible AI-focused chip announcement at Computex, which could refresh the Windows/PC upgrade cycle. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft will unveil a new coding model and other in-house AI tools at next week’s Build conference reinforce the company’s AI monetization story and support sentiment around GitHub Copilot and Azure demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest earnings backdrop remains solid, with revenue growth of 18.3% and better-than-expected EPS, helping investors justify the stock’s premium valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish writeups and analyst commentary say MSFT still has room to run because Azure, M365 cloud, and AI revenue are expanding faster than the broader software market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also drawing attention from investors, fund managers, and even congressional buyers, which supports the stock’s defensive-growth reputation but does not change fundamentals on its own.
• Negative Sentiment: A TechCrunch report says Microsoft is facing backlash for threatening a security researcher over unpatched bugs and code disclosure, adding some reputational noise ahead of Build. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.