SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 29,312 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $14,176,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.9% of SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. China Renaissance reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, President Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft stock opened at $390.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $410.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $429.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business 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 business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.45, for a total value of $1,031,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,434,201.60. The trade was a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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 directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 19,262 shares of company stock valued at $8,695,581 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Microsoft News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Several commentators remain bullish on Microsoft’s long-term AI outlook, arguing the stock looks attractive after the recent pullback and that Copilot/agentic AI could still drive upside. Microsoft Remains A Generational Buying Opportunity In The Agentic AI Era
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to win AI-infrastructure-related business, including a new 260 MW solar supply deal that supports its data-center and cloud expansion needs. MN8 Energy Delivers 260 MW of Solar to Microsoft Across Two U.S. Power Markets
- Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reinforcing Microsoft’s cash-generation strength and shareholder-return profile. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend
- Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments on using the right AI model for the right task highlight Microsoft’s push for AI efficiency, but also signal growing attention to AI compute costs. Satya Nadella Warns Against AI Overuse
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft limiting employee use of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 over data-retention concerns underscores tighter AI governance, though the direct financial impact appears limited. Microsoft limits employee use of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Xbox is preparing major layoffs and budget cuts are pressuring sentiment, as they point to restructuring and weaker confidence in the gaming segment. Microsoft’s Xbox plans for major layoffs next month
- Negative Sentiment: News that Microsoft is cutting jobs in its Azure unit in China adds to concerns about geopolitical friction and near-term cloud execution. Microsoft lays off hundreds from Azure unit in China
- Negative Sentiment: Broader commentary that AI data-center spending may be facing a reality check is weighing on the market’s enthusiasm for Microsoft’s heavy AI capex plans. Wall Street’s $800 Billion AI Data Center Bet Is Showing Cracks
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).
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