J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. Invests $7.88 Million in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• J. Derek Lewis & Associates disclosed a new stake in Microsoft, buying 16,299 shares worth about $7.88 million. Microsoft now represents 1.8% of the firm’s holdings and is its 15th-largest position.
• Microsoft continues to attract strong institutional interest, with 71.13% of shares owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. At the same time, recent insider sales included CEO Judson Althoff and EVP Takeshi Numoto trimming their holdings.
• The company’s fundamentals remain solid: Microsoft recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $561.20. However, the stock has also faced some bearish commentary and legal overhangs, even as AI and cloud momentum stay central to the story.

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,299 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,883,000. Microsoft makes up 1.8% of J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock worth $493,860,000 after buying an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. China Renaissance dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $502.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $373.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $412.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.55. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a 20-year power agreement with Chevron for Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt natural-gas-powered data center in West Texas. The deal underscores Microsoft’s commitment to expanding AI/cloud capacity and helps secure long-term electricity for its growing data center needs. Article: Chevron signs power supply deal with Microsoft for Texas data center
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles argue Microsoft’s selloff has made the stock attractive, citing history that suggests a rebound and pointing to still-strong AI and cloud fundamentals. These pieces may be encouraging bargain hunters and long-term investors. Article: History Suggests a Rebound Ahead, Says Top Investor About Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also being highlighted for new AI banking connections and deeper enterprise AI integrations, reinforcing the idea that its AI monetization story is still progressing. Article: Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Notches Up With New AI Banking Connections
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary around Satya Nadella’s remarks suggests Microsoft wants broader, cheaper, and more trusted AI rather than a winner-take-all model race. That may help the company strategically, but it is more of a long-term positioning story than an immediate stock catalyst. Article: Why Microsoft Needs to Carve its Own AI Path
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing fresh securities class action/lawsuit headlines tied to alleged disclosures about Copilot and Azure. Even if the legal impact is uncertain, this adds an overhang for investors. Article: Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Microsoft Corporation
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish notes continue to question whether Microsoft’s best growth days are behind it, and some analysts are keeping a cautious stance despite the lower valuation. That skepticism can limit upside in the near term. Article: Microsoft: The Best Days Are Behind It

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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