Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Sylvest Advisors LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Sylvest Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,923 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.9% of Sylvest Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Sylvest Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 500.0% during 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson reiterated a Buy rating and a $550 price target on Microsoft, suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports said Azure cloud growth remains strong and Microsoft’s AI business is still expanding, with analysts highlighting cloud share gains and AI monetization as key drivers for a future rebound. Blockonomi article
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish pieces argued Microsoft may be one of the most mispriced AI stocks, pointing to its large OpenAI stake, strong enterprise demand, and the potential for Copilot and “orchestration” tools to become more lucrative over time. Barron’s article
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also drew attention for a new AI-focused business unit and for merging its consumer and enterprise Copilot apps, which could improve product clarity but is still in the execution phase. Motley Fool article
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft said it is cutting about 4,800 jobs globally, with roughly 3,200 roles hit in Xbox, signaling a broad restructuring and raising concerns about weaker gaming economics. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to a securities fraud class action tied to alleged Copilot and Azure disclosure issues, adding legal overhang after prior stock weakness. PR Newswire article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.75.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $5.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $392.17. 4,549,209 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,726,043. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $406.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $417.46. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

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).