Verity Asset Management Inc. Has $3.78 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Verity Asset Management cut its Microsoft stake by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,761 shares and ending with 7,811 shares worth about $3.78 million. Microsoft remained its sixth-largest holding, making up about 1.6% of the portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.27 per share topping estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion coming in above expectations. Revenue rose 18.3% year over year, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.
• Recent headlines remain broadly positive for Microsoft’s growth story, including a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract and optimism around its AI and Azure opportunities. Analysts continue to lean bullish overall, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $560.88.

Verity Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,811 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,761 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.6% of Verity Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $412.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $400.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $435.01.

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 net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The biggest catalyst was a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract to consolidate Microsoft and other software licenses into one vehicle, which should streamline federal procurement and reinforce Microsoft’s government software footprint. Pentagon awards Microsoft $9.7 billion deal in bid to cut costs, end license sprawl
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports said HSBC sees Microsoft’s Anthropic partnership as potentially worth up to $43 billion in annual revenue by 2030, lifting optimism around Azure and Microsoft’s AI monetization path. Is Microsoft ditching OpenAI for Anthropic?
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc reiterated an Overweight rating, citing continued strength in Azure and Copilot, while other analyst notes argued Wall Street may be underestimating Microsoft’s AI revenue potential. KeyBanc Reiterates Overweight Rating on Microsoft (MSFT) on Azure and Copilot Growth
• Positive Sentiment: HP’s earnings beat, driven in part by the Windows 11 refresh cycle and AI PC demand, indirectly supports Microsoft by signaling healthy PC upgrade activity around its ecosystem. HP beats revenue, profit estimates as AI PC and Windows 11 refresh boost demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Several items were broadly supportive of Microsoft’s AI strategy, including partner integrations around Microsoft Marketplace, Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, but these are more incremental ecosystem updates than major stock-moving events.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary focused on near-term concerns around Microsoft’s heavy AI infrastructure spending and rising compute costs, with a few pieces arguing the stock remains under pressure despite the earnings beat. Cost of Compute is Far Beyond the Costs of the Employees: Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips as the Achilles Heel is Found
• Negative Sentiment: There were also reports that Dan Loeb’s Third Point exited Microsoft, which may add to investor caution even as longer-term AI enthusiasm remains intact. Billionaire Dan Loeb Cashed Out of Microsoft Stock. Shares Are Down 14.2% YTD.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.