Steelhead Wealth Management LLC Takes $467,000 Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Steelhead Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,264 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. President Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $570.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.27.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results remain the primary bullish catalyst. Microsoft reported revenue growth of 17.7% and earnings of $4.74 per share, well above consensus, reinforcing confidence in Azure, cloud demand and AI monetization. Magnificent Seven Earnings Remain Robust: MSFT, AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive. Wells Fargo raised its Microsoft price target to a Street-high $700 from $650 and maintained an overweight rating, citing the company’s growth prospects and ecosystem strength. Wells Fargo Raises Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI and cloud ecosystem through partnerships, including S&P Global data in Microsoft 365 Copilot, broader enterprise adoption in Brazil and Sionic’s instant-payment service on Microsoft Marketplace. These initiatives could support platform usage and recurring revenue over time. S&P Global Expands Collaboration with Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may introduce another Maia AI processor as early as September highlight its strategy to use custom chips to improve Azure AI efficiency. The move could reduce costs and reliance on outside suppliers, but the financial benefits will depend on successful scaling. Microsoft Stock Drops While Maia Chip Ambitions Expand
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Microsoft’s rapidly rising AI infrastructure spending could pressure margins, cash flow and returns before new capacity generates sufficient revenue. The stock’s sharp rally since the earnings report also increases profit-taking and valuation sensitivity. Microsoft’s AI Data Center Push: Growth Engine or Capex Trap?
• Negative Sentiment: A newly disclosed Windows zero-day vulnerability that may enable system-wide access adds reputational, remediation and potential liability concerns. Separate reports of pending investor lawsuits contribute to a cautious tone, although neither issue has yet altered Microsoft’s fundamental earnings outlook. New Windows Zero-Day Bug Published

Microsoft Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of MSFT opened at $492.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $408.32 and a 200 day moving average of $407.67.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

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).