Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Wick Capital Partners LLC

Wick Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11,516.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 446,401 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 442,558 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 15.7% of Wick Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Wick Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $215,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Arete Research lifted their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $412.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

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).