Clarity Financial LLC Buys 4,240 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Clarity Financial LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,240 additional shares and bringing its total to 75,753 shares worth about $36.6 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw broadly positive analyst coverage, with 39 analysts rating it a Buy and the consensus price target sitting at $560.88, even after some firms trimmed their targets.
• The company’s latest results were strong, with quarterly EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping forecasts, while Microsoft also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Clarity Financial LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,753 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 4,240 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.4% of Clarity Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Clarity Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the third quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $421.92 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $398.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $441.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. 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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