Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co

Key Points

• Walser Wealth Management increased its Microsoft stake by 40.7% in the first quarter, buying 2,025 more shares and bringing its position to 6,997 shares valued at about $2.59 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock, while several other firms also recently added to or initiated positions.
• Microsoft’s fundamentals and outlook remain strong: the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, and analysts still broadly rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $557.96 despite some recent caution around AI spending and margin pressure.

Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 40.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,997 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.2% of Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft's Nadella rips Anthropic's Fable restrictions in staff meeting: 'Doesn't make sense'
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value 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 approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $502.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, China Renaissance dropped their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $557.96.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $393.82 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $400.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $411.30.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business 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%.Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio 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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