Cadence Bank Raises Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Cadence Bank increased its Microsoft stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 2,743 shares and bringing its total holdings to 141,633 shares worth about $68.5 million. Microsoft is now Cadence Bank’s 4th largest position and makes up 4.0% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors continuing to adjust their positions in MSFT. The article says institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
• Microsoft continues to receive bullish long-term attention despite some analyst target cuts, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a target price of $560.88. The company also posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and recently declared a $0.91 quarterly dividend.

Cadence Bank grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,633 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,743 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.0% of Cadence Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Cadence Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $68,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a large new Microsoft stake, signaling strong confidence in MSFT’s long-term AI and cloud growth prospects. Billionaire Bill Ackman Just Made a Massive Bet on Microsoft. Here's Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term compounder, with some saying the stock looks cheaper than it has in years on a cash-flow basis. Is Microsoft Stock a Steal Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Microsoft’s move away from an overly dependent OpenAI relationship could be beneficial over time because customers increasingly want access to multiple AI models rather than one exclusive partner. Why Microsoft's Split With OpenAI May Be Great for the Stock in the Long Run

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $418.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $399.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $436.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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 issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

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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