Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Lifted by Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC

Key Points

• Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 118.8% in the first quarter, ending with 3,403 shares valued at about $1.27 million.
• Microsoft is leaning harder into AI with the launch of Microsoft Frontier Company, a $2.5 billion business aimed at embedding thousands of engineers and consultants inside customer operations to accelerate enterprise AI adoption.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, both topping analyst expectations; Microsoft also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 118.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,403 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock worth $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched Microsoft Frontier Company, a new $2.5 billion AI implementation business that will embed about 6,000 engineers, consultants and support specialists inside customer operations to speed enterprise AI adoption. Reuters: Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports and commentary said the new AI unit reinforces Microsoft’s leadership in enterprise AI and could drive more Azure and Copilot usage, helping explain the stock’s strength. GeekWire: Microsoft announces $2.5B ‘Frontier Company' to embed AI engineers inside customers
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s enterprise AI momentum was also supported by a new five-year deal with Haleon to expand AI, cloud and data technology across the health company’s operations. MarketBeat: Meta’s AI Compute Push Could Turn Its Massive CapEx Bill Into a Competitive Weapon
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly preparing another round of layoffs, potentially affecting thousands of workers in sales, consulting and Xbox, as it keeps pouring money into AI infrastructure. This may help costs over time, but it also highlights ongoing restructuring and margin pressure. Reuters: Microsoft partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to build India-Southeast Asia undersea cable
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment is also being weighed by a securities fraud class action and related deadline reminders, which add legal uncertainty to the name. PRNewswire: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $390.49 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $406.99 and a 200-day moving average of $418.05. 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 data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, President Capital raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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