Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Boosted by Smith Salley Wealth Management

Key Points

• Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its Microsoft stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 2,350 shares and bringing its total to 237,331 shares valued at about $114.8 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 versus the $4.06 consensus and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on the stock despite recent weakness, with several firms raising price targets and the Street consensus sitting at “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $560.88.

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 237,331 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.7% of Smith Salley Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $114,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $405.21 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $397.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $442.33. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid 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, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed Microsoft as an outperform and kept a $575 price target, while Phillip Securities upgraded the stock to buy with a $485 target, underscoring Wall Street’s continued optimism about Microsoft’s long-term AI and cloud growth. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Microsoft as a top long-term or “battered” software stock, with some investors seeing the pullback as an opportunity to buy a dominant franchise at a more attractive valuation. 247WallSt article
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly looking at startup acquisitions to reduce dependence on OpenAI, which could be a strategic positive over time but also signals that the current partnership is not viewed as fully secure. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn plans to cut about 5% of its workforce as part of a restructuring, which may support margins but also reflects caution across Microsoft’s broader business. Reuters/Invezz article
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing testimony in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI is putting Microsoft’s role in OpenAI under a microscope, reviving concerns about governance, reliance on OpenAI, and possible legal or reputational overhang. CNBC article
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are worried that Microsoft’s AI capex is rising faster than the market can justify, with articles warning that the company must prove a timely return on its AI investments to sustain the stock’s premium. Motley Fool article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research increased their target price on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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