Fruth Investment Management Has $5.47 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Fruth Investment Management reduced its Microsoft stake by 11.2% in the first quarter, selling 1,860 shares and leaving it with 14,792 shares valued at about $5.47 million.
• Microsoft continues to attract major institutional interest, with several other hedge funds and wealth managers adding to positions; overall, 71.13% of the stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Despite recent insider sales and some stock weakness, Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $560.86.

Fruth Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,792 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,860 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of Fruth Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Fruth Investment Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. River Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% in the first quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 16,492 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,105,000 after buying an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 11,833 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,380,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% during the first quarter. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $1,338,000. Finally, Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% in the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $390.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $406.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $417.46.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a new AI deployment business, Microsoft Frontier Company, backed by $2.5 billion and staffed with about 6,000 engineers and industry experts to help enterprises select, implement, and improve AI tools. Investors are viewing this as a way to accelerate Azure and Copilot adoption while monetizing the enterprise AI buildout. Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company with $2.5 billion commitment
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Microsoft as a top AI and growth stock, while others said the market is rotating from semiconductors back toward software. That is helping sentiment around MSFT as investors look for higher-quality AI beneficiaries with recurring enterprise revenue. Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also reported to be overhauling Copilot to make its AI assistant more useful and easier to justify for customers. That could improve adoption, but it also underscores that AI products must now prove their value. Microsoft’s Copilot Reset Shows AI Tools Must Now Prove Their Worth
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a new undersea cable partnership with Lightstorm to expand India-Southeast Asia connectivity, plus a report that enterprise customers continue to adopt Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. These are strategically helpful, but not immediate catalysts. Microsoft partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to build India-Southeast Asia undersea cable
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is still being held back by Microsoft’s weak recent stock performance, with articles noting its worst month in more than 25 years and renewed debate about whether the selloff is creating a buying opportunity. Microsoft Had Its Worst Month in More Than 25 Years. Should Investors Buy the Crash?
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing class-action securities litigation over alleged misrepresentations during the class period, which adds a legal overhang and may keep some investors cautious. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Other reports said Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs and that investors are questioning whether its massive AI capital spending can generate enough returns. That uncertainty is weighing on the stock despite the company’s strong long-term fundamentals. Microsoft eyes another wave of layoffs that could hit 5,000 workers next week

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, President Capital raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.86.

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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