Moran Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,657 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,342 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.0% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is pushing sales teams to sell its AI offerings as a more secure and lower-cost alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic, highlighting its ability to monetize enterprise demand and defend its AI ecosystem. Microsoft Coaches Sales Staff to Challenge OpenAI and Anthropic on Costs and Security
• Positive Sentiment: 3M announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft tied to Azure data centers and enterprise transformation, which adds another validation point for Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure strategy. 3M and Microsoft announce strategic partnership to advance AI data center infrastructure and enterprise transformation
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is overhauling its cybersecurity business to capture more spending from AI-driven threats, which could open a new growth lane as customers increase security budgets. Microsoft (MSFT) Overhauls Cybersecurity Business to Cash In on AI Threats
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a $2.5 billion initiative to help large customers deploy AI systems around their own data and workflows, reinforcing its enterprise AI moat. How Microsoft (MSFT) Is Deepening Its Enterprise AI Moat With a $2.5 Billion Customer Deployment Initiative

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, China Renaissance decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $557.96.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $395.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $401.10 and its 200-day moving average is $412.04.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

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).