Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP Has $325.25 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 672,530 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,380 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 9.0% of Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $325,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in 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, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value 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. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.74 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $411.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Arete Research lifted their target price on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.

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).