Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Stevens Capital Partners

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Partners increased its Microsoft stake by 36% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,425 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 5,384 shares worth about $2.6 million.
• Institutional interest in Microsoft remains strong, with several other hedge funds also adding shares and 71.13% of the stock now owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish: analysts have a consensus Moderate Buy rating on Microsoft, with an average price target of $560.88, while the company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates in its latest report.

Stevens Capital Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 36.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,384 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Partners' holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Microsoft Stock Up 3.1%

Microsoft stock opened at $421.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $398.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $441.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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