Walter Public Investments Inc. Has $13.94 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Walter Public Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 45.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,656 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 31,616 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.3% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,765 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,427,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 8.3% in the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 89,886 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $33,273,000 after buying an additional 6,880 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 11.1% in the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 20,396 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,550,000 after buying an additional 2,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 14.3% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 843,324 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $312,173,000 after buying an additional 105,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were 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 owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $400.28 and its 200-day moving average is $411.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft’s Nadella rips Anthropic’s Fable restrictions in staff meeting: ‘Doesn’t make sense’
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.96.

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).