Vericrest Private Wealth Buys Shares of 4,795 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Vericrest Private Wealth purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,795 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,319,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.1% of Vericrest Private Wealth’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $367.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $412.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.20.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Chevron announced a 20-year agreement to build Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt natural-gas-powered facility in West Texas to support Microsoft’s AI and cloud data centers, reinforcing long-term demand for Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. Reuters article on Chevron signs power supply deal with Microsoft for Texas data center
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella called for broader AI access, lower-cost models, and more emphasis on trust and choice, which supports the case that Microsoft is positioning itself to compete beyond the expensive frontier-model race. Yahoo Finance article on Microsoft CEO Calls for Broader AI Access
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft was cited as part of a broader Big Tech pullback tied to AI sector rotation and regulatory overhang, suggesting the stock is being dragged by the group rather than by company-specific operating news. Yahoo Finance article on US Equity Indexes Mixed Amid Steep Decline in Communication Services
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple investor-rights firms announced or promoted a securities class action against Microsoft related to alleged Copilot-related disclosures, adding headline risk but not yet changing the underlying business outlook. GlobeNewswire article on MSFT Alert
• Negative Sentiment: New class-action headlines around Microsoft’s Copilot issues and alleged investor harm may weigh on sentiment by increasing legal uncertainty and keeping attention on prior stock declines. PR Newswire article on MSFT Stockholder Alert

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).