EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 26,285 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• EverSource Wealth Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 38% in the first quarter, purchasing 26,285 shares for a total holding of 95,488 shares valued at approximately $35.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share on $90.01 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 42 analysts rating Microsoft a Buy and five issuing Hold ratings; the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $560.27 price target. Meanwhile, insiders sold 37,310 shares worth approximately $17.3 million over the past 90 days.

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 38.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,488 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 26,285 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.1% of EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $496.88 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $409.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $407.88. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $525.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman reaffirmed his bullish Azure thesis, arguing that continued capacity investment and Microsoft 365’s embedded customer base can support high-teens earnings growth. Microsoft Stock Rises as Ackman Reaffirms Azure Bet
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Microsoft price target to $625, citing accelerating Copilot adoption and infrastructure growth. Wells Fargo also maintained an overweight rating and lifted its target to $700, reinforcing the view that the stock’s AI-driven recovery has further upside. JPMorgan Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft began gradually combining its consumer and enterprise Copilot applications into a unified AI platform. The planned “super app” could improve user adoption, cross-selling and Microsoft’s competitive position against ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Microsoft Unifies Consumer and Enterprise Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft accepted IREN’s first AI data-center deployment under a $9.7 billion cloud agreement. The milestone supports Azure’s ability to secure additional computing capacity as AI infrastructure demand remains strong. IREN Hands Microsoft Its First AI Cloud Deployment
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly closing or restructuring numerous China offices and joint ventures, while retaining an Azure-linked presence. The move may reduce geopolitical exposure but could also limit access to the Chinese market. Microsoft Retreats in China
• Negative Sentiment: A report said Microsoft plans to cut carbon-removal purchases while AI-related emissions rise, creating potential reputational and environmental concerns. Microsoft Carbon Removal Purchases Report

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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