Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Increased by Brian Low Financial Group LLC

Brian Low Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 31.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,919 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.8% of Brian Low Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Brian Low Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $384.28 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $407.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $418.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Haleon signed a new five-year collaboration with Microsoft to expand use of its AI, cloud, and data technologies, underscoring continued enterprise adoption of Microsoft’s AI stack. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A Jefferies CIO survey showed Azure widening its lead over AWS among U.S. CIOs, supporting the case that Microsoft’s cloud momentum remains intact. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with JMP Securities reaffirming an Outperform view after Copilot Cowork’s launch and other coverage pointing to Microsoft’s AI growth potential. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is still drawing investor attention as a long-term AI winner, but several commentary pieces argue the stock is also under pressure from higher valuation scrutiny and broad Magnificent 7 weakness. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs, including in Xbox, sales, and consulting, are fueling concern that heavy AI spending is pressuring margins and forcing cost reductions. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor class-action notices tied to alleged Copilot/Azure misrepresentations are adding legal overhang and keeping sentiment cautious around MSFT. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, New Street Research lowered their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction 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 approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).