Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Raised by Accretive Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Accretive Wealth Partners increased its Microsoft stake by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 18,415 shares valued at about $8.9 million.
• Microsoft’s stock has broad institutional support, with 71.13% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors; several other firms also recently increased their positions.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,415 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.6% of Accretive Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IRON Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. PMG Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock worth $493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company'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 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 $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $421.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $398.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $441.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

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 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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