Van Diest Capital LLC Takes $2.84 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Van Diest Capital LLC opened a new Microsoft position in the fourth quarter, buying 5,877 shares worth about $2.84 million. Microsoft now represents 4.2% of the firm’s portfolio and is its largest holding.
• Microsoft recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion versus $81.44 billion expected. Revenue rose 18.3% year over year.
• Wall Street remains constructive on the stock overall, with 41 Buy ratings and a consensus target price of $561.20. Microsoft also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, or $3.64 annually, for a 1.0% yield.

Van Diest Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,877 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,842,000. Microsoft accounts for 4.2% of Van Diest Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 123,045 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $59,507,000 after purchasing an additional 10,582 shares during the period. Claris Financial LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,809,000. TMB Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,750,000. Briggs Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $795,000. Finally, ATX Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $1,475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. President Capital increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. China Renaissance cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $561.20.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $379.40 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $412.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $425.90. 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 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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