Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Trimmed by Unique Wealth LLC

Unique Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 32.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,176 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,394 shares during the quarter. Unique Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $828,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2,332.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,262,509,000 after acquiring an additional 6,468,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. HSBC dropped their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $406.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $417.86. The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.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 firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a new AI deployment business, Microsoft Frontier Company, backed by $2.5 billion and staffed with about 6,000 engineers and industry experts to help enterprises select, implement, and improve AI tools. Investors are viewing this as a way to accelerate Azure and Copilot adoption while monetizing the enterprise AI buildout. Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company with $2.5 billion commitment
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Microsoft as a top AI and growth stock, while others said the market is rotating from semiconductors back toward software. That is helping sentiment around MSFT as investors look for higher-quality AI beneficiaries with recurring enterprise revenue. Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also reported to be overhauling Copilot to make its AI assistant more useful and easier to justify for customers. That could improve adoption, but it also underscores that AI products must now prove their value. Microsoft’s Copilot Reset Shows AI Tools Must Now Prove Their Worth
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a new undersea cable partnership with Lightstorm to expand India-Southeast Asia connectivity, plus a report that enterprise customers continue to adopt Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. These are strategically helpful, but not immediate catalysts. Microsoft partners with Singapore’s Lightstorm to build India-Southeast Asia undersea cable
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is still being held back by Microsoft’s weak recent stock performance, with articles noting its worst month in more than 25 years and renewed debate about whether the selloff is creating a buying opportunity. Microsoft Had Its Worst Month in More Than 25 Years. Should Investors Buy the Crash?
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing class-action securities litigation over alleged misrepresentations during the class period, which adds a legal overhang and may keep some investors cautious. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Other reports said Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs and that investors are questioning whether its massive AI capital spending can generate enough returns. That uncertainty is weighing on the stock despite the company’s strong long-term fundamentals. Microsoft eyes another wave of layoffs that could hit 5,000 workers next week

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).