BCS Wealth Management Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

BCS Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 176.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,564 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 9,937 shares during the quarter. BCS Wealth Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6%

Microsoft stock opened at $411.29 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $395.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $446.73. 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 (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. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.72 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.50.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Massive commercial backlog — Microsoft’s order book was highlighted as roughly $627 billion, underscoring multi-year revenue visibility from cloud and AI customers. Microsoft's $627 Billion Order Book Is Bigger Than ...
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst move — Arete Research lifted its price target dramatically to $870 and kept a Buy stance, a strong signal to growth-oriented investors that upside is still being priced in by some brokers. Arete Research Adjusts Price Target on Microsoft to $870 ...
• Positive Sentiment: Product commercialization — Microsoft moved Agent 365 (AI agent management) out of preview to general availability, signaling commercialization of enterprise AI governance tools that can drive SaaS and services revenue. Microsoft takes Agent 365 out of preview ...
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism from backlog growth — Some analysts point to nearly 100% backlog growth and suggest material upside (~41% median upside from some coverage), which supports a longer-term bull case. Analysts See 41% Upside for Microsoft Stock ...
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support — Multiple firms (Jefferies, RBC, Scotiabank) have reiterated Buy/Outperform views or updated targets after the quarter, keeping institutional demand intact. Jefferies reiterates its buy rating ...
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. government AI reviews — Microsoft agreed to give U.S. agencies early access to unreleased models for security testing alongside Google and xAI; this reduces deployment surprises but increases regulatory oversight. What we know about US stress tests of Google, xAI and Microsoft AI models
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce moves — Microsoft launched a major voluntary buyout program to cut costs; that should lower near-term expense run-rate but risks losing experienced talent. Microsoft Just Launched a Major Voluntary Buyout ...
• Negative Sentiment: Huge capex and margin pressure — Microsoft’s 2026 capex guidance (~$190B) is materially above expectations (cited ~23% higher), with rising memory prices weighing on gross margins and fueling investor worries about near-term ROI. Microsoft's Capex Spending for 2026 Is 23% Higher ...
• Negative Sentiment: Investor skepticism and narrative risk — High-profile skeptics (e.g., Jim Cramer) and commentary that the market is “pricing AI costs not AI returns” are keeping sentiment fragile after the recent earnings reaction. Jim Cramer Isn’t a Fan of Microsoft After Rough Quarter ...
• Negative Sentiment: Product/segment weakness — Xbox leadership overhaul follows several quarters of soft console sales, flagging at least one consumer revenue stream that needs fixing. Microsoft Xbox CEO overhauls leadership amid sinking sales

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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