Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd cut its Microsoft stake by 24.8% in Q1, selling 204,161 shares and leaving it with 620,612 shares worth about $230.4 million. Microsoft remains its 6th-largest holding and makes up 3.9% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.27 versus the $4.06 estimate and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. Analysts still expect the company to earn $16.76 per share for the current fiscal year.
• The company continues to lean heavily into AI, including launching Microsoft Frontier Company with a $2.5 billion backing to help enterprises adopt AI tools. At the same time, sentiment is mixed due to weak recent stock performance, litigation concerns, and questions about returns on big AI spending.

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 620,612 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 204,161 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.9% of Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $230,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.49 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $406.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $417.46.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a new AI deployment business, Microsoft Frontier Company, backed by $2.5 billion and staffed with about 6,000 engineers and industry experts to help enterprises select, implement, and improve AI tools. Investors are viewing this as a way to accelerate Azure and Copilot adoption while monetizing the enterprise AI buildout. Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company with $2.5 billion commitment
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Microsoft as a top AI and growth stock, while others said the market is rotating from semiconductors back toward software. That is helping sentiment around MSFT as investors look for higher-quality AI beneficiaries with recurring enterprise revenue. Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also reported to be overhauling Copilot to make its AI assistant more useful and easier to justify for customers. That could improve adoption, but it also underscores that AI products must now prove their value. Microsoft’s Copilot Reset Shows AI Tools Must Now Prove Their Worth
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a new undersea cable partnership with Lightstorm to expand India-Southeast Asia connectivity, plus a report that enterprise customers continue to adopt Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. These are strategically helpful, but not immediate catalysts. Microsoft partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to build India-Southeast Asia undersea cable
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is still being held back by Microsoft’s weak recent stock performance, with articles noting its worst month in more than 25 years and renewed debate about whether the selloff is creating a buying opportunity. Microsoft Had Its Worst Month in More Than 25 Years. Should Investors Buy the Crash?
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing class-action securities litigation over alleged misrepresentations during the class period, which adds a legal overhang and may keep some investors cautious. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Other reports said Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs and that investors are questioning whether its massive AI capital spending can generate enough returns. That uncertainty is weighing on the stock despite the company’s strong long-term fundamentals. Microsoft eyes another wave of layoffs that could hit 5,000 workers next week

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho cut their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Finally, New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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