Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Raised by Continuum Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Continuum Advisory LLC increased its Microsoft holdings by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 7,166 shares to reach 51,827 shares valued at about $25.1 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional and analyst support: hedge funds own 71.13% of the stock, and Wall Street’s consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $561.20.
• The company reported solid quarterly results and a new dividend, posting EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion and announcing a $0.91 per share quarterly dividend, while the stock was down about 1.5% on the day.

Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,827 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 7,166 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.5% of Continuum Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Continuum Advisory LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are showing bullish sentiment toward Microsoft, with unusually heavy buying in long-dated call options suggesting some traders expect upside from here. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reinforcing its cash-generation and shareholder-return profile. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MN8 Energy said two solar projects totaling 260 MW are now online under long-term power purchase agreements with Microsoft, supporting its AI/data-center infrastructure needs. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding AI and cloud partnerships, including new agentic AI collaborations and Copilot-related deployments, which supports the long-term growth narrative but also underscores ongoing AI spending pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly cutting hundreds of jobs in its Azure unit in China, highlighting regulatory friction and weaker operating conditions in a key market. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Xbox is planning major layoffs and budget cuts next month are adding to concerns about slower growth and restructuring costs in Microsoft’s gaming division. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also limiting employee use of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 over data-retention concerns, a reminder of the risks and competitive tensions around AI tools and partners. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,262 shares of company stock valued at $8,695,581. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $397.36 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $410.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $429.80. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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