Ibex Wealth Advisors Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Ibex Wealth Advisors decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,440 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 8,759 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.5% of Ibex Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second 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 bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its partnership with Databricks through the 2030s, deepening integrations across Azure, Microsoft 365, Teams and Copilot and reinforcing its cloud and AI ecosystem. Microsoft (MSFT) Expands Partnership with AI Firm Databricks
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also deepened ties with AI startup Mistral, adding another strategic AI partner and broadening its footprint in regulated industries and Europe. Microsoft and Mistral expand strategic partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft committed $60 million and Azure compute credits to the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Genesis Mission,” highlighting ongoing investment in AI-for-science initiatives and government relationships. Microsoft commits $60M to ‘Genesis Mission’
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained constructive, with Truist reiterating a buy rating and a $575 price target, suggesting substantial upside if earnings and AI demand remain solid. Analyst note on Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $381.58 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $399.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $408.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. 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 released its 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 net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $646.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $502.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).