Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Quadrant Private Wealth Management boosted its Microsoft stake by 10.5% in Q4, buying 2,273 more shares and bringing its position to 23,836 shares valued at about $11.5 million.
• Microsoft continues to attract major institutional interest, with hedge funds and asset managers holding 71.13% of the stock and several firms recently adding large positions.
• The company posted better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of $562.69.

Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,836 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.9% of Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $562.69.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.00 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. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $396.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $445.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to draw bullish analyst commentary, with multiple firms raising or reaffirming price targets after the company’s strong earnings beat and Azure growth, reinforcing the view that core business momentum remains solid.
• Positive Sentiment: New reports suggest Microsoft’s AI ecosystem is still gaining traction, including partner milestones tied to Copilot and AI cloud services, which supports the case for continued enterprise adoption.
• Positive Sentiment: Several hedge funds and asset managers have recently added to Microsoft positions, indicating that some large investors still view MSFT as a long-term AI and cloud leader.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft partnered with CAISI and AISI to advance AI model testing standards, a policy-and-safety focused update that may help its enterprise credibility but is unlikely to move the stock on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is considering adjustments to its renewable-energy targets and offering voluntary retirement packages reflect ongoing cost and infrastructure pressures, but these items are more strategic than immediately material to revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: Market attention is centered on TCI’s reduced stake and the broader “AI anxiety” trade, with investors worried Microsoft may be spending heavily on AI infrastructure before the payoff becomes clearer.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also points to temporary margin pressure from elevated AI and data-center spending, which could weigh on near-term profitability even as growth remains strong.

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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