CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Cushing Asset Management LP dba NXG Investment Management opened a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 10,000 shares worth about $4.84 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support, with 71.13% of shares held by institutional investors and a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $562.69.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS on $82.89 billion in revenue, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share payable on June 11.

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,000 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,836,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position 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 buying 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 approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s CEO testified that the company supported OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure, reinforcing the importance of Microsoft’s AI investment and the potential upside from its partnership with OpenAI. Microsoft's C.E.O. Intervened When OpenAI Fired Sam Altman, Musk's Lawyer Claims
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports emphasized Microsoft’s growing AI thesis, with analysts pointing to strong cloud growth, improving AI monetization, and continued long-term upside from enterprise demand. Microsoft’s (MSFT) Q3 Revealed 3 Things that Matter for the AI Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary argued Microsoft still looks undervalued based on free-cash-flow projections, even after higher capital spending, which can support the stock among long-term investors. Microsoft Stock Still Looks Undervalued Based on FCF Projections, Despite Higher Capex
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage continues to frame Microsoft as a major AI and cloud winner, but several articles are opinion pieces or commentary rather than new fundamental developments. Microsoft Stock Analysis: My Final Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some negative noise around Microsoft’s African data center delays and questions about AI and software disruption, which could add caution around execution and future growth assumptions. Microsoft's African data center falters on payment demands, Bloomberg News reports

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $412.66 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $397.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $443.93. The stock has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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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