Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,951 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,574 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.7% of Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $384.93 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $401.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.68. 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 posted 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. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to view Microsoft as a high-quality AI and cloud name, with some arguing the stock looks cheaper after the recent decline.
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming earnings later this month could provide a catalyst if Azure growth and AI-related demand remain strong.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft remains a major beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending, but investors are waiting for clearer proof that those investments will translate into faster profit growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s 4,800-job reduction and Xbox restructuring suggest ongoing cost pressure and restructuring challenges.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action alerts tied to alleged AI/Copilot disclosure issues are adding legal and reputational risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership and AI product execution are creating uncertainty around the company’s AI narrative.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. China Renaissance decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).