Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Absher Wealth Management LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Absher Wealth Management trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, but Microsoft remains its 3rd largest holding, accounting for about 4.4% of the portfolio and valued at $36.8 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw support from strong cloud and AI momentum, with commentary pointing to roughly 40% Azure growth and a removed legal overhang after Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, while analysts still see the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $560.88.

Absher Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,038 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,916 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.4% of Absher Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in 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 period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure cloud business is still growing strongly, with recent commentary pointing to about 40% growth, reinforcing the company’s AI and cloud leadership thesis. 9 Best Cloud Stocks to Buy as Azure Growth Hits 40%
• Positive Sentiment: The jury defeat for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI removed a legal overhang around Microsoft’s AI partner ecosystem and was viewed as a bullish development for MSFT’s broader AI strategy. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: New product news around Surface devices for business and AI workloads suggests Microsoft is still pushing enterprise hardware and AI adoption across its ecosystem. Microsoft launches Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with Intel chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also unveiled enterprise Surface models powered by Intel Core Ultra chips, which is a product refresh but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst on its own. Microsoft (MSFT) Unveils Enterprise Surface Lineup Powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn said it will lay off more than 600 employees, a cost-cutting move that may help margins but also signals restructuring inside Microsoft’s professional networking unit. Panic in California as LinkedIn announces hundreds of layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are focusing on concerns about mixed Xbox messaging, which may be weighing on sentiment around Microsoft’s gaming segment. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Mixed Xbox Messaging
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted a Windows drivers issue that could hurt battery life on Windows 11 laptops, adding a small but negative product-quality overhang. “Blind Spot” in Windows Drivers Leads to Sub-Par Battery Life, Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by EVP Amy Coleman, while modest, can also dampen sentiment when the stock is already under pressure. Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT EVP Amy Coleman Sells 1,262 Shares

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $417.42 on Wednesday. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $398.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $439.04.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft Company 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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