Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,514 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 14,493 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.6% of Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $88,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Microsoft from $659.00 to $556.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.82.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $411.22 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $390.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.36. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $355.67 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft agreed to take up spare capacity at a Norway data center originally intended for OpenAI, giving it access to tens of thousands of Nvidia GPUs and immediately boosting its AI compute footprint — a direct, near-term capacity win for Azure and Copilot workloads. OpenAI pulls back from Stargate Norway data center deal as Microsoft takes over
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and sentiment momentum: Microsoft just logged its best three-session performance since April 2023, reflecting a short-term rotation back into beaten-down mega-cap AI names and traders reacting to the compute/capacity news. Microsoft’s stock has sprung back to life: It’s on its strongest run in 3 years, by one measure
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and industry bullishness: a number of commentaries and upgrades argue Microsoft’s pullback is overdone given its cloud backlog and Copilot monetization potential — supporting a view that further upside is possible if execution continues. Microsoft Stock Got Punished by AI Fears. The Market’s Been Too Harsh.
• Neutral Sentiment: Massive AI capex and data?center expansion remain a double?edged sword: Microsoft is accelerating build?out (including a new 3,200?acre Wyoming site) and guiding very large capital spending — this supports long?term growth but keeps near?term capex scrutiny and margin pressure in play. Microsoft’s AI Data Center Push: Growth Engine or Capex Trap?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume has been reported, indicating heightened trader activity and positioning around the name — this amplifies moves but can increase short?term volatility. Microsoft Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:MSFT)
• Negative Sentiment: Price?target trims and valuation questions persist: several firms have reduced targets amid the post?peak re?rating, keeping upside under review and maintaining downside risk if growth or margin inflection points slip. Mizuho Trims Microsoft Price Target to $515: How Much Upside Is Left in This AI Titan?
• Negative Sentiment: Partnership and competitive risk: mixed signals from AI partners (OpenAI internal comments and Anthropic activity) highlight dependency and competitive uncertainty around who controls model distribution and which clouds customers choose — a potential long?term strategic headwind. OpenAI Says Microsoft ‘Limited’ Its Reach, Slams Anthropic For ‘Inflated $30B Revenue

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).