Livet Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,772 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,824,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.1% of Livet Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 22,925 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,985 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 695,882 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $336,542,000 after acquiring an additional 37,881 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,566,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,972,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
- Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
- Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
- Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given 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%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. China Renaissance reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft 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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