N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,602 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. China Renaissance dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 price target (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $417.42 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $398.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $439.04. 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 capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure cloud business is still growing strongly, with recent commentary pointing to about 40% growth, reinforcing the company’s AI and cloud leadership thesis. 9 Best Cloud Stocks to Buy as Azure Growth Hits 40%
• Positive Sentiment: The jury defeat for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI removed a legal overhang around Microsoft’s AI partner ecosystem and was viewed as a bullish development for MSFT’s broader AI strategy. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: New product news around Surface devices for business and AI workloads suggests Microsoft is still pushing enterprise hardware and AI adoption across its ecosystem. Microsoft launches Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with Intel chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also unveiled enterprise Surface models powered by Intel Core Ultra chips, which is a product refresh but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst on its own. Microsoft (MSFT) Unveils Enterprise Surface Lineup Powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn said it will lay off more than 600 employees, a cost-cutting move that may help margins but also signals restructuring inside Microsoft’s professional networking unit. Panic in California as LinkedIn announces hundreds of layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are focusing on concerns about mixed Xbox messaging, which may be weighing on sentiment around Microsoft’s gaming segment. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Mixed Xbox Messaging
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted a Windows drivers issue that could hurt battery life on Windows 11 laptops, adding a small but negative product-quality overhang. “Blind Spot” in Windows Drivers Leads to Sub-Par Battery Life, Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by EVP Amy Coleman, while modest, can also dampen sentiment when the stock is already under pressure. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Amy Coleman Sells 1,262 Shares

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).