Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC more than doubled its Microsoft stake in the fourth quarter, increasing its holdings by 100.7% to 4,433 shares valued at about $2.14 million.
• Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.27 versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year.
• The stock remains supported by institutional interest and analyst optimism, though it also faces some overhangs from a UK antitrust probe and LinkedIn workforce cuts; analysts currently rate it a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $560.88.

Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 100.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,433 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 0.6% of Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $421.92 on Monday. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month 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. The stock's 50 day moving average is $398.18 and its 200 day moving average is $440.75.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Weiss Ratings lowered Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

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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