ProVise Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,590 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.2% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $45,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research upped their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $615.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.88.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said Microsoft’s restructured OpenAI partnership looks like a net positive rather than a setback, reinforcing the view that MSFT remains a key beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption. Wedbush Views Microsoft (MSFT)’s Restructured OpenAI Partnership As Net Positive Rather Than Strategic Failure
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still being framed as a leading AI and cloud winner, with commentary highlighting Azure growth, Copilot demand, and broader enterprise AI spending as long-term drivers. Wedbush Views Microsoft (MSFT)’s Restructured OpenAI Partnership As Net Positive Rather Than Strategic Failure
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also attracting investor attention as a preferred AI holding, with one high-profile investor reportedly rotating out of Alphabet and into MSFT, which can be seen as a vote of confidence in the stock’s AI positioning. This Famous Investor Just Sold All Of His Alphabet Stock and Loaded Up On Microsoft Stock. Should You?
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a large purchase of 650,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits, suggesting continued investment in sustainability initiatives that may support its long-term corporate image and compliance goals. Microsoft’s carbon removal plans aren’t dead after all
- Neutral Sentiment: Some market commentary suggests Microsoft may be undervalued after a recent pullback, but that view is still debated and depends on whether AI spending translates into sustained earnings growth. Why Bill Ackman Thinks the Selloff in Microsoft Stock Is Misguided
- Negative Sentiment: The UK Competition and Markets Authority opened a probe into Microsoft’s software practices, creating a regulatory overhang that could pressure sentiment if scrutiny expands. UK CMA Opens Probe Into Microsoft (MSFT) Software Practices
- Negative Sentiment: GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft, confirmed a security incident involving stolen internal repositories, adding a cybersecurity headline that could weigh on the stock near term. GitHub confirms 3,800 internal repos stolen through poisoned VS Code extension as supply chain worm hits Microsoft’s Python SDK
Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%
Shares of MSFT stock opened at $421.06 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $398.83 and a 200-day moving average of $438.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given 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 dividend 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).
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