Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,662 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Greatmark Investment Partners trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,662 shares and leaving it with 70,427 shares worth about $34.1 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support, with 71.13% of shares held by institutions and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $562.69.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS on $82.89 billion in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share payable on June 11.

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,427 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,662 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.0% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. President Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $562.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $412.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year 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 $397.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $443.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Key Headlines 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

Microsoft 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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