QVT Financial LP bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,189 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,059,000.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. President Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, New Street Research reduced their target price on shares of 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.20.
Key Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is getting credit for continued AI momentum, including a new coding model, a quantum-computing milestone with Quantinuum, and new availability of NuPlay in the Microsoft Marketplace, all of which reinforce the company’s long-term platform strength. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) and Quantinuum (QNT) Hit Quantum Milestone, Moving Closer to Commercial Reality
- Positive Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments that Xbox must become “sustainable” were interpreted as a sign Microsoft is willing to push for better margins and discipline in its gaming business. Article: Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Jumps as CEO Satya Nadella Says Xbox Needs to Become ‘Sustainable’
- Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators continue to argue that Microsoft’s valuation reset could make the stock more attractive, especially if AI, cloud, and quantum investments eventually accelerate growth. Article: Microsoft’s Giant’s Valuation Reset Creates a Real Dilemma
- Neutral Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s portfolio shifts and broader market chatter around AI leaders reflect ongoing institutional debate about Microsoft’s role in the AI trade, but do not directly change the business outlook. Article: Microsoft or Alphabet: Billionaire Bill Ackman Goes All In on One AI Stock, Dumps the Other
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing a shareholder lawsuit alleging it failed to disclose slowing Azure growth and the need for heavy AI infrastructure spending, which raises concerns about margins, transparency, and near-term cloud execution. Article: Microsoft sued by shareholders over expenses, cloud business, AI
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have launched securities-fraud investigations and class-action efforts against Microsoft, adding legal overhang and headline risk for investors. Article: Securities Fraud Investigation Into Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Announced
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing shutdowns or spin-out options for parts of Xbox, plus insider-selling headlines, reinforce investor worries that some businesses may need restructuring and tighter cost control. Article: Report: Microsoft weighing up spinning off Xbox
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $399.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $411.60 and its 200 day moving average is $428.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 21.67%.
Microsoft 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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