Naviter Wealth LLC Sells 5,313 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Naviter Wealth LLC cut its Microsoft stake by 10.4%, selling 5,313 shares and leaving 45,742 shares worth $22.122 million — Microsoft represents 2.9% of Naviter's portfolio and is its 8th-largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive but mixed: Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $575.34, even as several firms have trimmed targets or adopted more cautious views.
• Key company developments — including a A$25 billion (~$18B) Azure/AI investment in Australia and large voluntary U.S. buyouts tied to massive AI spending — are driving investor uncertainty and recent market sell‑offs.

Naviter Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,742 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,313 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.9% of Naviter Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Naviter Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CCG Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,422 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Balance Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Balance Wealth LLC now owns 8,163 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Finer Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 32,422 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares during the period. Jericho Financial LLP increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Jericho Financial LLP now owns 17,105 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,272,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 38,516 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $18,627,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. New Street Research lifted their price target on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $575.34.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major long‑term investment: Microsoft committed A$25B (~$18B) to expand Azure and AI capacity in Australia through 2029, supporting future cloud/Azure revenue and global infrastructure scale. Microsoft to invest $18 billion in Australia
• Positive Sentiment: Product and security strengthening: Microsoft is integrating advanced models (including Anthropic’s Mythos) into its security development lifecycle — a move that can reduce risk and improve enterprise trust in its AI offerings. Microsoft to integrate Anthropic's Mythos
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst: Microsoft reports fiscal Q3 earnings on April 29 — analysts and investors see the print as pivotal for clarity on AI monetization, Azure growth and near‑term margins. Prediction: Microsoft's April 29 Earnings...
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn leadership change: LinkedIn’s CEO transition (Daniel Shapero named) is operationally relevant but not a core driver of Microsoft’s AI/cloud thesis. LinkedIn names new CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Historic voluntary buyouts announced: Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement/buyout packages to up to ~7% of U.S. staff — the first program of this scale in its history. Investors view this as a signal of large reorganization and near‑term restructuring costs tied to a major AI pivot. Microsoft Targets About 7% of Its U.S. Workers With Buyout Offer
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and cost concerns: Reports linking the buyout to massive AI spending (estimates in coverage range into the tens of billions to $100B+ scale) have spooked investors, prompting a sell‑off amid uncertainty over timing of returns on that spending. Microsoft Falls 4% as $110 Billion AI Bet Forces Historic Employee Buyout
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/price‑target pressure: Some shops trimmed targets or adopted cautious ratings as they weigh heavy near‑term AI investment against growth — adding to downside risk into earnings. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowers PT

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $415.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $393.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $451.84. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company 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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