Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors trimmed its Microsoft stake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, but Microsoft remained its largest holding at 5.7% of the portfolio, worth about $136.6 million.
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion versus $81.44 billion expected, while revenue grew 18.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, and analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $562.69.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,529 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,674 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.7% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $136,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. IRON Financial LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $493,860,000 after buying an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,499,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $412.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $397.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $443.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s CEO testified that the company supported OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure, reinforcing the importance of Microsoft’s AI investment and the potential upside from its partnership with OpenAI. Microsoft's C.E.O. Intervened When OpenAI Fired Sam Altman, Musk's Lawyer Claims
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports emphasized Microsoft’s growing AI thesis, with analysts pointing to strong cloud growth, improving AI monetization, and continued long-term upside from enterprise demand. Microsoft’s (MSFT) Q3 Revealed 3 Things that Matter for the AI Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary argued Microsoft still looks undervalued based on free-cash-flow projections, even after higher capital spending, which can support the stock among long-term investors. Microsoft Stock Still Looks Undervalued Based on FCF Projections, Despite Higher Capex
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage continues to frame Microsoft as a major AI and cloud winner, but several articles are opinion pieces or commentary rather than new fundamental developments. Microsoft Stock Analysis: My Final Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some negative noise around Microsoft’s African data center delays and questions about AI and software disruption, which could add caution around execution and future growth assumptions. Microsoft's African data center falters on payment demands, Bloomberg News reports

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.69.

About Microsoft

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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