Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 300,250 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,730 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.1% of Caprock Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $145,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 93,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $45,061,000 after purchasing an additional 22,183 shares during the last quarter. Torrey Payne Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $633,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 2,844,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,375,516,000 after purchasing an additional 45,940 shares during the last quarter. FORM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $1,261,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman’s Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing ‘compelling’ valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Microsoft Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $421.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $398.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $441.39.

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. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.88.

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).