Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP boosted its Microsoft stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 672,530 shares worth about $325.2 million. Microsoft is now its largest portfolio position, accounting for 9.0% of assets.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support, with 71.13% of shares owned by institutions and Wall Street maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus. Analysts currently show 41 Buy ratings versus six Hold ratings, with an average price target of $561.20.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating expectations with $4.27 EPS and $82.89 billion in revenue, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share. However, near-term sentiment is being pressured by reports of possible Xbox restructuring, layoffs, and other cost cuts.

Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 672,530 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 6,380 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 9.0% of Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $325,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings 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. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. President Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $390.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $411.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.95. 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 released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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