Breakwater Investment Management Reduces Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Breakwater Investment Management cut its Microsoft stake by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,347 shares and ending with 25,270 shares valued at about $12.2 million. Microsoft remains the firm’s fourth-largest holding, making up 4.4% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft’s recent operating results were strong, with quarterly revenue up 18.3% and earnings per share topping estimates at $4.27 vs. $4.06. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, or $3.64 annually.
• Investor sentiment remains broadly positive, with multiple analysts maintaining buy ratings and a consensus price target of $560.88. The stock is also getting support from reports about new AI and hardware initiatives, including possible Build conference announcements and Surface-related updates.

Breakwater Investment Management decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,270 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,347 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.4% of Breakwater Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Breakwater Investment Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. China Renaissance decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 5.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $450.24 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $402.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $434.62.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

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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