Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 30,833 additional shares. The firm now holds 242,458 shares worth about $116.4 million, making Microsoft its fifth-largest holding.
• Microsoft continues to draw attention for its AI and cloud strategy, with reports of a potential $1 billion-plus annual business tied to ByteDance in China and OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT through ads. The company is also reportedly adjusting Copilot pricing to better manage rising AI costs.
• Despite strong analyst support and solid recent earnings, Microsoft faces some headwinds, including investor concerns about AI spending and valuation plus ongoing legal scrutiny. Analysts still broadly rate the stock a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $561.20.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 242,458 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 30,833 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.3% of Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $116,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during 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 last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $412.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The company 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

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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