Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,300,410 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 458,014 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.2% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,235,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in 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 acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $561.20.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Majorana 2 quantum processor, reinforcing its long-term innovation pipeline and boosting optimism around its advanced computing ambitions. Microsoft Announces Majorana 2 Quantum Chip as Wedbush Calls It Another ‘Validation’ for the Industry
• Positive Sentiment: NHS England is rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot to more than 500,000 staff, a large enterprise win that highlights demand for Microsoft’s AI tools and could expand recurring software revenue. NHS England accelerates AI adoption with Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve service delivery, reduce costs and create more time for care
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to argue that Microsoft’s AI strategy and ecosystem strength support long-term upside, which may help limit downside on weakness. Microsoft’s AI Independence and Ecosystem Momentum Underpin Buy Rating; $620 Price Target Reaffirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from investors and media continues to frame Microsoft as a strong AI and hyperscaler leader, but also notes ongoing debate about valuation and how much AI momentum is already priced in. Dryden Pence on GOOGL “Dominant” AI Position, META “Behind,” MSFT Still Strong
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is investigating a hack of its open-source GitHub projects that injected password-stealing malware, which is a reputational and security concern for the company’s developer ecosystem. Microsoft’s open source tools were hacked to steal passwords of AI developers
• Negative Sentiment: Reid Hoffman is leaving Microsoft’s board, and David Tepper reportedly cut most of Appaloosa’s Microsoft stake, adding to investor scrutiny around sentiment and governance. Reid Hoffman Exits Microsoft Board A Decade After LinkedIn Sale — Stock Has Soared 570%

Microsoft Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $411.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $430.96. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).