Jericho Financial LLP Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Jericho Financial LLP increased its Microsoft stake by 17.9% in the first quarter, buying 3,059 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 20,164 shares worth about $7.46 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on MSFT, with 42 analysts rating it a Buy and seven a Hold; the stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $556.37.
• Microsoft’s recent fundamentals and shareholder returns remain strong: it beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, raised its dividend to $0.91 per share, and continues to attract institutional ownership, which now stands at 71.13%.

Jericho Financial LLP grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,164 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.7% of Jericho Financial LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Jericho Financial LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flatrock Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter worth about $3,188,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 36,302 shares of the software giant's stock worth $13,438,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Navalign LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 7,158 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp now owns 2,237 shares of the software giant's stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.1% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 2,801 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $556.37.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $397.75 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $399.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $409.57. 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 capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI to strengthen Europe-focused AI infrastructure and bring Mistral models deeper into Microsoft’s cloud and AI platforms, reinforcing its long-term AI growth story. Reuters article on Microsoft funding Mistral's European AI expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley turned constructive on Microsoft, saying sentiment on software stocks has become too negative and assigning MSFT an Overweight rating with a $600 price target. Investopedia article on Morgan Stanley software picks
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators say Microsoft could be undervalued heading into earnings, with several pieces arguing the stock may be a bargain if Azure growth and AI execution improve. TipRanks article on Microsoft as a bargain ahead of earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal Q4 results on July 29, and investors are focusing on Azure growth, AI spending, and Copilot adoption as the key questions for the call. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft earnings and Azure growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded AI deal with AMD also supports the bull case for Azure infrastructure, but it underscores that Microsoft is still spending heavily to secure future AI capacity rather than immediately harvesting profits. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft expanding AMD partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued fresh class-action reminders tied to Microsoft’s alleged AI misstatements, keeping legal risk in the spotlight and adding pressure on sentiment. Pomerantz class-action alert for Microsoft investors
• Negative Sentiment: Headlines about a securities fraud lawsuit and allegations that Microsoft overstated Copilot functionality may weigh on the stock by reinforcing concerns around AI execution and disclosure. PR Newswire lawsuit notice on Microsoft Copilot functionality

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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