Uptick Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,995 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.6% of Uptick Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Uptick Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of MSFT opened at $426.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $400.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $434.51.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This 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 insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.88.
View Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Key Stories Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expected to showcase new homegrown AI models at Build, including a coding model that could improve GitHub Copilot and support future developer adoption. Microsoft to release new coding model next week, the Information reports
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary is turning more bullish on Microsoft’s AI revenue potential, with Morgan Stanley and HSBC both suggesting the market may be underestimating future upside from Azure, Copilot, and the Anthropic relationship. Is Wall Street underestimating MSFT AI revenue potential? Morgan Stanley weighs in
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also benefited from a broad tech rally, with AI and software stocks leading the market higher late in the session. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft secured a five-year $9.69 billion Pentagon software deal that consolidates government licensing and reinforces its entrenched enterprise and public-sector position. Pentagon awards Microsoft $9.7 billion deal in bid to cut costs, end license sprawl
- Neutral Sentiment: Some articles also note Microsoft’s heavy AI spending and the risk of capital misallocation across the sector, which could keep valuation debates active even as the stock trends higher. Peter Schiff: The $1 Trillion AI CapEx Bubble Is Hiding a Massive Capital Misallocation
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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