N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 7,602 shares worth about $3.68 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Microsoft, with 39 Buy ratings and an average Moderate Buy rating; the consensus price target is $560.88 despite several analysts trimming targets.
• Microsoft continues to show strong operating momentum, posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and 18.3% revenue growth, while its quarterly dividend was set at $0.91 per share.

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,602 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Evercore cut their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirty-nine equities research 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure cloud business is still growing strongly, with recent commentary pointing to about 40% growth, reinforcing the company’s AI and cloud leadership thesis. 9 Best Cloud Stocks to Buy as Azure Growth Hits 40%
• Positive Sentiment: The jury defeat for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI removed a legal overhang around Microsoft’s AI partner ecosystem and was viewed as a bullish development for MSFT’s broader AI strategy. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: New product news around Surface devices for business and AI workloads suggests Microsoft is still pushing enterprise hardware and AI adoption across its ecosystem. Microsoft launches Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with Intel chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also unveiled enterprise Surface models powered by Intel Core Ultra chips, which is a product refresh but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst on its own. Microsoft (MSFT) Unveils Enterprise Surface Lineup Powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn said it will lay off more than 600 employees, a cost-cutting move that may help margins but also signals restructuring inside Microsoft’s professional networking unit. Panic in California as LinkedIn announces hundreds of layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are focusing on concerns about mixed Xbox messaging, which may be weighing on sentiment around Microsoft’s gaming segment. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Mixed Xbox Messaging
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted a Windows drivers issue that could hurt battery life on Windows 11 laptops, adding a small but negative product-quality overhang. “Blind Spot” in Windows Drivers Leads to Sub-Par Battery Life, Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by EVP Amy Coleman, while modest, can also dampen sentiment when the stock is already under pressure. Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT EVP Amy Coleman Sells 1,262 Shares

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4%

MSFT opened at $417.42 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $398.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.04. 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 market cap of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

About Microsoft

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.