Clark Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Clark Asset Management LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 12.3% in Q4, buying 2,423 more shares and bringing its holdings to 22,139 shares valued at about $10.7 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional support, with hedge funds and other investors owning 71.13% of the company’s stock. Several other funds also increased their positions during recent quarters.
• Microsoft’s AI/OpenAI narrative remains a major focus, but recent reports that OpenAI capped Microsoft’s revenue-sharing at $38 billion through 2030 may limit upside expectations even as analysts still view the company as a long-term AI winner.

Clark Asset Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,139 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,423 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of Clark Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Clark Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft remains a long-term AI winner, with several notes saying the stock still looks undervalued and that its AI/Cloud thesis remains intact. Microsoft’s (MSFT) Q3 Revealed 3 Things that Matter for the AI Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s testimony in the Musk v. Altman trial reinforced Microsoft’s early backing of OpenAI and its expected payoff from that investment, which some investors view as supportive of the company’s AI strategy. OpenAI to cap Microsoft revenue-sharing at $38 billion, The Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI reportedly capped revenue-sharing payments to Microsoft at $38 billion through 2030, which may be read as a structural clarification that still preserves a major economic relationship while supporting OpenAI’s IPO path. Microsoft secures structural wins in OpenAI revenue cap deal, Wedbush says
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft was mentioned in broader AI-market commentary about whether AI spending is generating enough ROI, which adds to sentiment volatility but does not directly change fundamentals. Chamath Warns Companies Must Prove ROI from AI Within ‘500 Days’
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports focused on Microsoft’s role in OpenAI’s founding and governance in the Musk lawsuit; these headlines keep the stock in the news, but the market impact is mostly indirect unless they lead to regulatory or contractual changes. How Much Power Did Microsoft Have Over OpenAI?
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest near-term overhang is the perception that Microsoft may have less upside from OpenAI than previously assumed, after reports that revenue-sharing is capped far below earlier projections. OpenAI to cap Microsoft revenue-sharing at $38 billion, The Information reports
• Negative Sentiment: Nadella’s testimony in the Musk trial also highlighted how closely Microsoft is tied to OpenAI’s governance fight, keeping legal and reputational risks in focus for investors. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella takes stand in Musk v. Altman trial

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. China Renaissance lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price target (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $407.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $397.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.14. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Microsoft Company 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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