Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.

Key Points

• Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, making MSFT its largest holding at about 5% of the portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong fiscal-quarter results, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive despite some target cuts: Microsoft has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,919 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 5.0% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IRON Financial LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock worth $493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore lowered their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $409.43 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $397.84 and a 200-day moving average of $441.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is drawing bullish attention after news that its MDASH cybersecurity system outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI in a key test, reinforcing the company’s AI leadership and enterprise security story.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and Phillip Securities both reiterated or upgraded Microsoft with bullish ratings, with fresh price targets suggesting meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced Carmine Di Sibio, former EY chairman and CEO, has joined its board of directors, which may be viewed as a governance and strategic-strengthening move.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is pursuing AI startup acquisitions beyond OpenAI suggest management is preparing new growth drivers and reducing reliance on a single AI partner.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Microsoft’s expanding AI revenue run rate and ongoing enterprise adoption, which continue to support the long-term growth narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship, including a possible revenue-sharing cap and testimony from Satya Nadella, but the market impact is still uncertain until more deal details become public.
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn’s planned 5% workforce reduction may help margins, but it also signals ongoing restructuring across Microsoft’s ecosystem rather than a clear near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. competition regulator launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s business software dominance, raising the risk of future restrictions in Office, cloud, and AI-related distribution.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of browser-tab data collection in Microsoft Edge could add privacy concerns around Copilot and AI memory features, potentially increasing scrutiny of Microsoft’s consumer AI products.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing headlines about elevated AI spending, OpenAI-related trial testimony, and investor caution around capex may keep pressure on sentiment until Microsoft proves the returns on its AI investments.

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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