Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Increased by Cove Private Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Cove Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft (MSFT) by 5.6% to 49,133 shares (worth $23.76M), making MSFT its third‑largest holding at 7.1% of the portfolio; institutional investors own about 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft beat quarterly expectations with $4.27 EPS and $82.89B revenue and reported 40%+ Azure/cloud growth and accelerating AI monetization, but heavy capex guidance (~$190B) and rising AI spending have pressured near‑term free cash flow and investor sentiment.
• Analysts remain largely positive (average rating "Moderate Buy" and target ~$556.15) despite several price‑target trims, and insiders showed mixed activity—director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares while EVP Kathleen Hogan sold 12,321 shares.

Cove Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,133 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 7.1% of Cove Private Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cove Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $610.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, President Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $556.15.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and the earnings call highlighted 40%+ Azure/cloud growth and accelerating AI monetization, giving investors confidence in the company’s long-term AI revenue runway. Microsoft Earnings Call: AI Growth Surges, Margins Squeezed
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Pentagon signed agreements allowing Microsoft’s AI tech on classified networks — a credibility and contract win that can translate into long-term, high‑value government revenue. Pentagon inks deals with Nvidia, Microsoft and AWS to deploy AI on classified networks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions include several price‑target raises and reaffirmations (Benchmark raised to $525, others keep buy ratings), signaling continued bullish conviction among some buy‑side firms. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Target Increased to $525 by Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Product catalyst: rollout of Windows 11’s new Xbox Mode supports consumer engagement and adds a near‑term, tangible product story for the stock. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Jumps on Windows 11 Xbox Mode Rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: The revised Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (ending exclusivity) is being parsed by markets: it reduces some exclusivity upside but clarifies commercial terms that could be neutral-to-positive longer term depending on monetization. Microsoft and OpenAI Just Ended Their Exclusive Deal, and Wall Street Is Trying Hard to Shake Off the Negatives for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from TV/hosts (e.g., Jim Cramer) describes MSFT as attractively valued but notes limited new messaging on the call — this shapes retail sentiment but isn’t new fundamental data. Jim Cramer on Microsoft: “Maybe You Can Consider It Cheap, But It’s Software”
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on record capex (roughly $190B guidance) and the near‑term hit to free cash flow — that spending narrative caused the post‑earnings pullback and continues to cap the multiple. Beat meets bill: MSFT stock slips on AI expenditure concerns despite strong Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman’s note flagging extreme cloud cash burn and other outlets highlighting the industry’s rising AI capex raises concern that spending could pressure margins and returns if monetization lags. Microsoft, Amazon On Watch ― Goldman Sounds Alarm On 90% Cloud Cash Burn
• Negative Sentiment: Some brokers trimmed price targets or cut upside on valuation as they bake in capex risk (HSBC cut its target), keeping a portion of the market cautious. HSBC Cuts Microsoft Price Target to $571 From $593

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $414.41 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $395.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $447.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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