Samalin Investment Counsel LLC Has $6.35 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 13% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,506 additional shares and bringing its position to 13,132 shares worth about $6.35 million. Microsoft is now the fund’s third-largest holding, representing roughly 2.3% of its portfolio.
• Institutional interest in Microsoft remains strong, with several other large investors also adding shares and about 71.13% of the stock now owned by institutions. The article also notes bullish commentary around Microsoft’s AI and cloud growth prospects.
• Microsoft delivered solid fundamentals and shareholder returns, beating quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share. Analysts remain mostly positive, with 39 Buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.

Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,132 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.3% of Samalin Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Certuity LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 55,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $26,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,465,000. Rogco LP raised its position in Microsoft by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 10,847 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,246,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,757,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd raised its position in Microsoft by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,126 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a large new Microsoft stake, signaling strong confidence in MSFT’s long-term AI and cloud growth prospects. Billionaire Bill Ackman Just Made a Massive Bet on Microsoft. Here's Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term compounder, with some saying the stock looks cheaper than it has in years on a cash-flow basis. Is Microsoft Stock a Steal Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Microsoft’s move away from an overly dependent OpenAI relationship could be beneficial over time because customers increasingly want access to multiple AI models rather than one exclusive partner. Why Microsoft's Split With OpenAI May Be Great for the Stock in the Long Run

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm'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 value of $519,111.08. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance decreased their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $418.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $399.71 and a 200-day moving average of $436.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors 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 (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

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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