Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,342 additional shares and bringing its total to 10,034 shares valued at about $4.85 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding 71.13% of Microsoft stock, while several other firms also recently added to their positions.
• Microsoft continues to attract bullish Wall Street attention thanks to AI and cloud growth, with analysts maintaining a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $560.88 price target, even as some regulatory and cybersecurity headlines create near-term risks.

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,034 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.7% of Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said Microsoft’s restructured OpenAI partnership looks like a net positive rather than a setback, reinforcing the view that MSFT remains a key beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption. Wedbush Views Microsoft (MSFT)’s Restructured OpenAI Partnership As Net Positive Rather Than Strategic Failure
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still being framed as a leading AI and cloud winner, with commentary highlighting Azure growth, Copilot demand, and broader enterprise AI spending as long-term drivers. Wedbush Views Microsoft (MSFT)’s Restructured OpenAI Partnership As Net Positive Rather Than Strategic Failure
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also attracting investor attention as a preferred AI holding, with one high-profile investor reportedly rotating out of Alphabet and into MSFT, which can be seen as a vote of confidence in the stock’s AI positioning. This Famous Investor Just Sold All Of His Alphabet Stock and Loaded Up On Microsoft Stock. Should You?
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a large purchase of 650,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits, suggesting continued investment in sustainability initiatives that may support its long-term corporate image and compliance goals. Microsoft's carbon removal plans aren't dead after all
• Neutral Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests Microsoft may be undervalued after a recent pullback, but that view is still debated and depends on whether AI spending translates into sustained earnings growth. Why Bill Ackman Thinks the Selloff in Microsoft Stock Is Misguided
• Negative Sentiment: The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened a probe into Microsoft’s software practices, creating a regulatory overhang that could pressure sentiment if scrutiny expands. UK CMA Opens Probe Into Microsoft (MSFT) Software Practices
• Negative Sentiment: GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft, confirmed a security incident involving stolen internal repositories, adding a cybersecurity headline that could weigh on the stock near term. GitHub confirms 3,800 internal repos stolen through poisoned VS Code extension as supply chain worm hits Microsoft's Python SDK

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research reduced their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Arete Research increased their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MSFT opened at $421.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $398.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $438.30.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

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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