Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Vancity Investment Management Ltd's Largest Position

Key Points

• Vancity Investment Management trimmed its Microsoft stake by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, but Microsoft remains its largest holding at about 10.7% of assets, valued at roughly $78.4 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive, with 41 Buy ratings and an average price target of $561.20.

Vancity Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,202 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,674 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 10.7% of Vancity Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Vancity Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $78,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. ARK & TLK Investments LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in 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. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fischer Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $412.27 and a 200-day moving average of $425.90. 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 company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, New Street Research dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

About Microsoft

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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