Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by North Star Investment Management Corp.

Key Points

• North Star Investment Management increased its Microsoft stake by 2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 95,719 shares worth about $46.3 million. Microsoft is now its sixth-largest position, accounting for 2.9% of the portfolio.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional interest, with 71.13% of shares owned by hedge funds and institutions. The article also notes major firms like Vanguard, Norges Bank, and UBS AM have significantly expanded their positions.
• The company is benefiting from positive business momentum, including a $9.69 billion Pentagon software deal, upbeat Wall Street commentary on AI revenue potential, and strong recent earnings that beat estimates on both EPS and revenue.

North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,719 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.9% of North Star Investment Management Corp.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $46,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expected to showcase new homegrown AI models at Build, including a coding model that could improve GitHub Copilot and support future developer adoption. Microsoft to release new coding model next week, the Information reports
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary is turning more bullish on Microsoft’s AI revenue potential, with Morgan Stanley and HSBC both suggesting the market may be underestimating future upside from Azure, Copilot, and the Anthropic relationship. Is Wall Street underestimating MSFT AI revenue potential? Morgan Stanley weighs in
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also benefited from a broad tech rally, with AI and software stocks leading the market higher late in the session. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft secured a five-year $9.69 billion Pentagon software deal that consolidates government licensing and reinforces its entrenched enterprise and public-sector position. Pentagon awards Microsoft $9.7 billion deal in bid to cut costs, end license sprawl
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles also note Microsoft’s heavy AI spending and the risk of capital misallocation across the sector, which could keep valuation debates active even as the stock trends higher. Peter Schiff: The $1 Trillion AI CapEx Bubble Is Hiding a Massive Capital Misallocation

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $426.99 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $400.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $434.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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