Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 382,340 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 21,251 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Stephens Inc. AR’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $141,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seascape Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% during the first quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 8,911 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. LVZ Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.7% during the first quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 5,773 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 27,910 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,331,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 85,118 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,508,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,933 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,787,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $502.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. President Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Microsoft from a “market outperform” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $557.96.
Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $400.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $411.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were 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 $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
- Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft’s Nadella rips Anthropic’s Fable restrictions in staff meeting: ‘Doesn’t make sense’
- Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
- Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action
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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