Syntax Research Inc. Has $4.01 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Syntax Research Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 58.1% in the first quarter, ending with 10,842 shares worth about $4.01 million.
• Microsoft continues to draw strong institutional interest overall, with hedge funds and other investors owning 71.13% of the company’s shares.
• Despite recent stock weakness, Microsoft’s latest earnings beat expectations on both EPS and revenue, while analysts still maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a price target around $559.84.

Syntax Research Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 58.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,842 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,984 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.6% of Syntax Research Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Syntax Research Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $828,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its holdings in Microsoft by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2,332.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,262,509,000 after buying an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $131,750,000 after buying an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. 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 the 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 owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set a "market outperform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Argus cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $559.84.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $385.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $402.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $414.08. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (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 net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

More 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).

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