Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lessened by Abel Hall LLC

Key Points

• Abel Hall LLC cut its Microsoft stake by 25% in the first quarter, selling 5,291 shares and leaving it with 15,847 shares worth about $5.87 million. Microsoft still ranks as the fund’s 9th-largest holding.
• Despite some recent investor caution, Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Microsoft, with 41 analysts rating it a Buy and a consensus price target of $557.96. Recent commentary also highlighted strong Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds.
• Microsoft’s latest results were solid, beating earnings and revenue expectations with EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable Sept. 10.

Abel Hall LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,847 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,291 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.2% of Abel Hall LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Abel Hall LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second 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 last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft's Nadella rips Anthropic's Fable restrictions in staff meeting: 'Doesn't make sense'
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Dbs Bank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Arete Research upped their price objective on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $557.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company'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 directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $400.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $411.30. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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