Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Columbia Asset Management's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Columbia Asset Management trimmed its Microsoft stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, but MSFT remains its 2nd-largest holding, representing 7.8% of the portfolio and about $43.6 million in value.
• Microsoft continues to attract bullish attention: Bill Ackman disclosed a new multi-billion-dollar position, and analysts cite Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI growth as key drivers supporting further upside.
• The stock also faces some headwinds, including a UK antitrust probe into its software and cloud practices and workforce cuts at LinkedIn, even as Microsoft posted better-than-expected quarterly results and announced a new dividend.

Columbia Asset Management lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,169 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,766 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 7.8% of Columbia Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock worth $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 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: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. China Renaissance reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Dbs Bank reduced their price target on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $421.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $398.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $441.39. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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