Invesco Ltd. Cuts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 45,233,823 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 78,859 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.4% of Invesco Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,875,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th 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 shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft 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 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. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $412.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.90. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set a “market outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, New Street Research dropped their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.20.

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).