Momentum Wealth Planning LLC Sells 3,884 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Momentum Wealth Planning LLC sharply reduced its Microsoft position in the fourth quarter, selling 3,884 shares and cutting its stake by 89.1% to 476 shares worth about $230,000.
• Microsoft continues to attract bullish attention, with Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square taking a new multi-billion-dollar stake and analysts pointing to Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers.
• The stock remains supported by strong fundamentals and shareholder returns: Microsoft recently beat earnings and revenue expectations, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Momentum Wealth Planning LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 89.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 476 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,884 shares during the quarter. Momentum Wealth Planning LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% during the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

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 Stock Performance

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

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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