Focused Wealth Management Inc Increases Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its Microsoft stake by 76.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 20,825 shares worth about $7.71 million.
• Microsoft posted solid quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping forecasts as well. Analysts still expect the company to generate strong full-year EPS of 16.76.
• The stock faces mixed sentiment: Microsoft recently announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend, but investors are also watching insider selling, a weaker share price, and renewed concerns around AI spending and legal scrutiny.

Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 76.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,825 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 9,042 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.8% of Focused Wealth Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Focused Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% in 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. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake 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 worth $3,262,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,468,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock worth $131,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $373.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $408.34 and a 200-day moving average of $419.37. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% 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 Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. President Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued strength in Microsoft’s Azure cloud and AI businesses, with bullish commentary saying demand remains robust and that the recent selloff may be creating a more attractive entry point. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors cited Microsoft’s security business as a potential growth driver, while recent partnership news and product integrations suggest the company is still expanding its enterprise ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street coverage remained constructive, with firms such as Deutsche Bank and Erste Group lifting their outlooks, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s long-term earnings power remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced product and ecosystem updates, including a new Marketplace listing and broader AI/security-related integrations, which are supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several opinion pieces argued the stock may be oversold and could rebound, but these were largely valuation-driven commentary rather than new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed scrutiny over AI spending, with multiple stories noting the stock’s sharp June decline as investors worry that massive AI capex is not translating into profits quickly enough. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms and reports flagged securities-fraud class actions tied to alleged misstatements about Copilot and Azure, adding legal uncertainty and potential headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of another round of job cuts and from antitrust attention in Europe, both of which can weigh on sentiment even if they help costs over time. Article Title

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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