Cannon Capital Management Inc. Invests $1.63 Million in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Cannon Capital Management initiated a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 3,368 shares worth about $1.63 million. Microsoft now accounts for roughly 1.4% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional interest in Microsoft remains broad, with several other funds increasing holdings and 71.13% of shares owned by institutional investors and hedge funds overall.
• Microsoft’s recent backdrop is still being driven by AI and cloud optimism, including a major Pentagon contract and bullish analyst commentary on Azure and Copilot, even as some investors remain cautious about heavy AI spending and compute costs.

Cannon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,368 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,629,000. Microsoft makes up about 1.4% of Cannon Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The biggest catalyst was a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract to consolidate Microsoft and other software licenses into one vehicle, which should streamline federal procurement and reinforce Microsoft’s government software footprint. Pentagon awards Microsoft $9.7 billion deal in bid to cut costs, end license sprawl
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports said HSBC sees Microsoft’s Anthropic partnership as potentially worth up to $43 billion in annual revenue by 2030, lifting optimism around Azure and Microsoft’s AI monetization path. Is Microsoft ditching OpenAI for Anthropic?
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc reiterated an Overweight rating, citing continued strength in Azure and Copilot, while other analyst notes argued Wall Street may be underestimating Microsoft’s AI revenue potential. KeyBanc Reiterates Overweight Rating on Microsoft (MSFT) on Azure and Copilot Growth
• Positive Sentiment: HP’s earnings beat, driven in part by the Windows 11 refresh cycle and AI PC demand, indirectly supports Microsoft by signaling healthy PC upgrade activity around its ecosystem. HP beats revenue, profit estimates as AI PC and Windows 11 refresh boost demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Several items were broadly supportive of Microsoft’s AI strategy, including partner integrations around Microsoft Marketplace, Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, but these are more incremental ecosystem updates than major stock-moving events.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary focused on near-term concerns around Microsoft’s heavy AI infrastructure spending and rising compute costs, with a few pieces arguing the stock remains under pressure despite the earnings beat. Cost of Compute is Far Beyond the Costs of the Employees: Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips as the Achilles Heel is Found
• Negative Sentiment: There were also reports that Dan Loeb’s Third Point exited Microsoft, which may add to investor caution even as longer-term AI enthusiasm remains intact. Billionaire Dan Loeb Cashed Out of Microsoft Stock. Shares Are Down 14.2% YTD.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $412.67 on Thursday. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $400.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $435.01.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Arete Research upped their price objective on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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