Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC Acquires 1,745 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its Microsoft stake by 25.3% in the first quarter, buying 1,745 more shares and bringing its total to 8,648 shares valued at about $3.2 million.
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, both topping analyst estimates and showing 18.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, while analysts remain broadly constructive overall with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.86.

Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,648 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.8% of Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $373.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.37. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price objective (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued strength in Microsoft’s Azure cloud and AI businesses, with bullish commentary saying demand remains robust and that the recent selloff may be creating a more attractive entry point. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors cited Microsoft’s security business as a potential growth driver, while recent partnership news and product integrations suggest the company is still expanding its enterprise ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street coverage remained constructive, with firms such as Deutsche Bank and Erste Group lifting their outlooks, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s long-term earnings power remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced product and ecosystem updates, including a new Marketplace listing and broader AI/security-related integrations, which are supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several opinion pieces argued the stock may be oversold and could rebound, but these were largely valuation-driven commentary rather than new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed scrutiny over AI spending, with multiple stories noting the stock’s sharp June decline as investors worry that massive AI capex is not translating into profits quickly enough. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms and reports flagged securities-fraud class actions tied to alleged misstatements about Copilot and Azure, adding legal uncertainty and potential headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of another round of job cuts and from antitrust attention in Europe, both of which can weigh on sentiment even if they help costs over time. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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