Castellan Group Purchases 13,887 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Castellan Group increased its Microsoft stake by 429.7% in Q4, buying 13,887 shares to own 17,119 shares worth roughly $8.28 million, making MSFT about 1.0% of its portfolio and its fifth-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $4.27 versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion (up 18.3% YoY), supported by >40% Azure/cloud growth and accelerating AI monetization.
• Corporate actions & sentiment: Microsoft announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend (0.9% yield), insiders made recent trades (a director bought 5,000 shares while an EVP sold 12,321), and the stock holds a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $556.15.

Castellan Group grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 429.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,119 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 13,887 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.0% of Castellan Group's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Castellan Group's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second 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. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6%

MSFT opened at $414.41 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $395.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $448.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS 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 business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.6 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and the earnings call highlighted 40%+ Azure/cloud growth and accelerating AI monetization, giving investors confidence in the company’s long-term AI revenue runway. Microsoft Earnings Call: AI Growth Surges, Margins Squeezed
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Pentagon signed agreements allowing Microsoft’s AI tech on classified networks — a credibility and contract win that can translate into long-term, high‑value government revenue. Pentagon inks deals with Nvidia, Microsoft and AWS to deploy AI on classified networks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions include several price‑target raises and reaffirmations (Benchmark raised to $525, others keep buy ratings), signaling continued bullish conviction among some buy‑side firms. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Target Increased to $525 by Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Product catalyst: rollout of Windows 11’s new Xbox Mode supports consumer engagement and adds a near‑term, tangible product story for the stock. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Jumps on Windows 11 Xbox Mode Rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: The revised Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (ending exclusivity) is being parsed by markets: it reduces some exclusivity upside but clarifies commercial terms that could be neutral-to-positive longer term depending on monetization. Microsoft and OpenAI Just Ended Their Exclusive Deal, and Wall Street Is Trying Hard to Shake Off the Negatives for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from TV/hosts (e.g., Jim Cramer) describes MSFT as attractively valued but notes limited new messaging on the call — this shapes retail sentiment but isn’t new fundamental data. Jim Cramer on Microsoft: “Maybe You Can Consider It Cheap, But It’s Software”
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on record capex (roughly $190B guidance) and the near‑term hit to free cash flow — that spending narrative caused the post‑earnings pullback and continues to cap the multiple. Beat meets bill: MSFT stock slips on AI expenditure concerns despite strong Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman’s note flagging extreme cloud cash burn and other outlets highlighting the industry’s rising AI capex raises concern that spending could pressure margins and returns if monetization lags. Microsoft, Amazon On Watch ― Goldman Sounds Alarm On 90% Cloud Cash Burn
• Negative Sentiment: Some brokers trimmed price targets or cut upside on valuation as they bake in capex risk (HSBC cut its target), keeping a portion of the market cautious. HSBC Cuts Microsoft Price Target to $571 From $593

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $556.15.

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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