Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Cut by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its Microsoft stake by 8.4% in the first quarter, selling 247,958 shares and leaving it with 2.71 million shares worth about $1.0 billion. Microsoft remains the fund’s third-largest holding at roughly 4% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, posting $4.27 in EPS versus the $4.06 consensus and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. The company also beat on profitability metrics, with a 31.94% return on equity and 39.34% net margin.
• Analysts remain largely bullish despite mixed signals, with 41 Buy ratings and seven Hold ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. Microsoft’s shares recently traded at $384.93, below many analyst price targets, while insiders have also sold stock in recent months.

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,713,638 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 247,958 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.0% of Strs Ohio's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Strs Ohio's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,004,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.84.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $384.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13. 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 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $401.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $412.68.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to view Microsoft as a high-quality AI and cloud name, with some arguing the stock looks cheaper after the recent decline.
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming earnings later this month could provide a catalyst if Azure growth and AI-related demand remain strong.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft remains a major beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending, but investors are waiting for clearer proof that those investments will translate into faster profit growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s 4,800-job reduction and Xbox restructuring suggest ongoing cost pressure and restructuring challenges.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action alerts tied to alleged AI/Copilot disclosure issues are adding legal and reputational risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership and AI product execution are creating uncertainty around the company’s AI narrative.

Microsoft 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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