Hoge Financial Services LLC Has $2.64 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Hoge Financial Services LLC boosted its Microsoft stake by 25.5% in the first quarter, buying 1,448 more shares and bringing its holdings to 7,122 shares valued at about $2.64 million.
• Microsoft is getting a lift from its enterprise AI push, including the launch of a $2.5 billion AI implementation business called Microsoft Frontier Company and a new five-year AI/cloud deal with Haleon.
• Despite the positive AI momentum, the stock faces some headwinds from possible layoffs and a securities fraud class action, even as Microsoft recently beat earnings estimates and continues to pay a quarterly dividend.

Hoge Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,122 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.4% of Hoge Financial Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Hoge Financial Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched Microsoft Frontier Company, a new $2.5 billion AI implementation business that will embed about 6,000 engineers, consultants and support specialists inside customer operations to speed enterprise AI adoption. Reuters: Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports and commentary said the new AI unit reinforces Microsoft’s leadership in enterprise AI and could drive more Azure and Copilot usage, helping explain the stock’s strength. GeekWire: Microsoft announces $2.5B ‘Frontier Company' to embed AI engineers inside customers
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s enterprise AI momentum was also supported by a new five-year deal with Haleon to expand AI, cloud and data technology across the health company’s operations. MarketBeat: Meta’s AI Compute Push Could Turn Its Massive CapEx Bill Into a Competitive Weapon
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly preparing another round of layoffs, potentially affecting thousands of workers in sales, consulting and Xbox, as it keeps pouring money into AI infrastructure. This may help costs over time, but it also highlights ongoing restructuring and margin pressure. Reuters: Microsoft partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to build India-Southeast Asia undersea cable
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment is also being weighed by a securities fraud class action and related deadline reminders, which add legal uncertainty to the name. PRNewswire: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $390.49 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $406.99 and a 200-day moving average of $418.05.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Arete Research raised their target price on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Dbs Bank decreased their price target on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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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