Palouse Capital Management Inc. Acquires 4,558 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Palouse Capital Management increased its Microsoft stake by 41.2% in the first quarter, buying 4,558 additional shares and bringing its total to 15,622 shares valued at about $5.78 million.
• Insiders have been selling Microsoft stock recently, including CEO Judson Althoff and EVP Amy Coleman; total insider sales reached 23,762 shares worth about $10.5 million over the last 90 days.
• Microsoft remains financially strong, with the latest quarter beating estimates on EPS and revenue, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share and maintaining strong analyst support with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Palouse Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 41.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,622 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 4,558 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.8% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Palouse Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value 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 $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $385.10 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $402.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.84.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus lowered its price target on Microsoft but kept a buy rating, still implying roughly 32% upside from current levels. Benzinga / The Fly report on Argus price target cut
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to Microsoft’s AI and Azure buildout as a long-term driver, with one piece arguing that AI data centers are effectively “pre-sold,” suggesting strong demand for Microsoft’s infrastructure spending. Article on AI spending returns
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings showed the company beat expectations on both revenue and EPS, reinforcing that the core business remains healthy despite the stock’s weak price action.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Xbox/gaming unit is facing restructuring under Asha Sharma, including layoffs and tough decisions about studio strategy, which adds uncertainty but could improve efficiency over time. FT article on Xbox changes
• Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve named Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to a jobs-and-productivity task force, keeping Microsoft in the policy conversation around AI and labor, but with no immediate financial impact. Yahoo Finance report on Fed task force
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued notices about a securities fraud class action tied to alleged AI/Copilot misrepresentations, increasing headline risk and investor caution. PR Newswire lawsuit notice
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Starbucks is building internal AI to replace some Microsoft software underscore a broader threat: customers may use AI to reduce reliance on Microsoft’s enterprise products, which could pressure future software revenue. MarketBeat Starbucks AI cost-cutting article
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s AI expansion is also drawing criticism over rising emissions and heavy capital spending, feeding worries that the company is paying more for growth while investors question the payback period. TechXplore emissions report

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

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.