Ebert Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ebert Capital Management opened a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 13,788 shares worth about $6.67 million. Microsoft now represents roughly 6.3% of the firm’s portfolio and is its fifth-largest holding.
• Microsoft’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $4.27 versus the $4.06 estimate and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. The company also reported strong profitability, including a 39.34% net margin and 31.94% return on equity.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $561.20. However, some insiders have recently sold shares, which could weigh on short-term sentiment.

Ebert Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,788 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,668,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.3% of Ebert Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2,332.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,262,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.2%

Microsoft stock opened at $427.34 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $405.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $432.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,083 shares of company stock worth $12,710,152. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Build announcements suggest it is broadening its AI platform with proprietary models and agentic tools, which could reduce reliance on OpenAI and improve margins over time.
• Positive Sentiment: New partnerships and integrations with Nvidia, healthcare groups like Mayo Clinic, and third-party enterprise tools expand Microsoft’s ecosystem and may support future cloud demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains constructive, with several reports arguing that Microsoft’s AI opportunity and Azure growth still look underappreciated. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s quantum-computing update and AI infrastructure ambitions are long-term catalysts, but they are not expected to contribute meaningfully to near-term earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors appear to be taking profits after the Build rally and remain cautious about Microsoft’s heavy AI spending and execution risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Judson Althoff’s disclosed share sale may add to short-term sentiment pressure, even though the transaction was relatively small compared with his remaining holdings. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. New Street Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $561.20.

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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