Evansbrook LLC Acquires New Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Evansbrook LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,983 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,894,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.9% of Evansbrook LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $412.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $425.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore cut their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Arete Research increased their price objective on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

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).