Forum Financial Management LP Buys 2,288 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Forum Financial Management LP increased its Microsoft stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,288 more shares and bringing its total holding to 92,945 shares worth about $44.95 million.
• Microsoft continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with major investors like Norges Bank, Nuveen, UBS AM, and Northern Trust holding large positions; overall, institutions own 71.13% of the company.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS on $82.89 billion in revenue, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share payable June 11.

Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,945 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.6% of Forum Financial Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $44,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $412.66 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $397.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $443.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s CEO testified that the company supported OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure, reinforcing the importance of Microsoft’s AI investment and the potential upside from its partnership with OpenAI. Microsoft's C.E.O. Intervened When OpenAI Fired Sam Altman, Musk's Lawyer Claims
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports emphasized Microsoft’s growing AI thesis, with analysts pointing to strong cloud growth, improving AI monetization, and continued long-term upside from enterprise demand. Microsoft’s (MSFT) Q3 Revealed 3 Things that Matter for the AI Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary argued Microsoft still looks undervalued based on free-cash-flow projections, even after higher capital spending, which can support the stock among long-term investors. Microsoft Stock Still Looks Undervalued Based on FCF Projections, Despite Higher Capex
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage continues to frame Microsoft as a major AI and cloud winner, but several articles are opinion pieces or commentary rather than new fundamental developments. Microsoft Stock Analysis: My Final Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: There was also some negative noise around Microsoft’s African data center delays and questions about AI and software disruption, which could add caution around execution and future growth assumptions. Microsoft's African data center falters on payment demands, Bloomberg News reports

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $562.69.

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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