Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by CWS Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• CWS Financial Advisors LLC increased its Microsoft holdings by 8.7% in Q1, now owning 19,051 shares worth approximately $7.15 million.
• Several large institutional investors, including Colonial Trust Advisors and Triple Frond Partners LLC, also raised their stakes in Microsoft during the same quarter.
• Microsoft's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $3.65 EPS and $76.44 billion in revenue, leading to an upgraded analyst consensus and price target.

CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,051 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.3% of CWS Financial Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. CWS Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fosun International Ltd grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.5% in the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $8.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $509.90. The company had a trading volume of 23,610,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,166,356. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $510.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $453.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.