SageGuard Financial Group LLC Takes $25.78 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• SageGuard Financial Group disclosed a new position in Microsoft, buying 53,297 shares valued at about $25.8 million. Microsoft now represents roughly 4.1% of the firm’s portfolio and is its third-largest holding.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Microsoft, with 39 Buy ratings and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Analysts’ average price target is $560.88, even after some firms trimmed targets.
• Microsoft’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.27 on $82.89 billion in revenue, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

SageGuard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 53,297 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $25,776,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.1% of SageGuard Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is drawing bullish attention after news that its MDASH cybersecurity system outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI in a key test, reinforcing the company’s AI leadership and enterprise security story.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and Phillip Securities both reiterated or upgraded Microsoft with bullish ratings, with fresh price targets suggesting meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced Carmine Di Sibio, former EY chairman and CEO, has joined its board of directors, which may be viewed as a governance and strategic-strengthening move.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is pursuing AI startup acquisitions beyond OpenAI suggest management is preparing new growth drivers and reducing reliance on a single AI partner.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Microsoft’s expanding AI revenue run rate and ongoing enterprise adoption, which continue to support the long-term growth narrative.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces focused on Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship, including a possible revenue-sharing cap and testimony from Satya Nadella, but the market impact is still uncertain until more deal details become public.
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn’s planned 5% workforce reduction may help margins, but it also signals ongoing restructuring across Microsoft’s ecosystem rather than a clear near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. competition regulator launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s business software dominance, raising the risk of future restrictions in Office, cloud, and AI-related distribution.
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage of browser-tab data collection in Microsoft Edge could add privacy concerns around Copilot and AI memory features, potentially increasing scrutiny of Microsoft’s consumer AI products.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing headlines about elevated AI spending, OpenAI-related trial testimony, and investor caution around capex may keep pressure on sentiment until Microsoft proves the returns on its AI investments.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $409.43 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $441.52. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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