Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lifted by Clearstead Advisors LLC

Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 329,664 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,516 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.0% of Clearstead Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $159,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $411.74 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $408.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $430.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $502.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $561.20.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Majorana 2 quantum processor, reinforcing its long-term innovation pipeline and boosting optimism around its advanced computing ambitions. Microsoft Announces Majorana 2 Quantum Chip as Wedbush Calls It Another ‘Validation’ for the Industry
• Positive Sentiment: NHS England is rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot to more than 500,000 staff, a large enterprise win that highlights demand for Microsoft’s AI tools and could expand recurring software revenue. NHS England accelerates AI adoption with Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve service delivery, reduce costs and create more time for care
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to argue that Microsoft’s AI strategy and ecosystem strength support long-term upside, which may help limit downside on weakness. Microsoft’s AI Independence and Ecosystem Momentum Underpin Buy Rating; $620 Price Target Reaffirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from investors and media continues to frame Microsoft as a strong AI and hyperscaler leader, but also notes ongoing debate about valuation and how much AI momentum is already priced in. Dryden Pence on GOOGL “Dominant” AI Position, META “Behind,” MSFT Still Strong
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is investigating a hack of its open-source GitHub projects that injected password-stealing malware, which is a reputational and security concern for the company’s developer ecosystem. Microsoft’s open source tools were hacked to steal passwords of AI developers
• Negative Sentiment: Reid Hoffman is leaving Microsoft’s board, and David Tepper reportedly cut most of Appaloosa’s Microsoft stake, adding to investor scrutiny around sentiment and governance. Reid Hoffman Exits Microsoft Board A Decade After LinkedIn Sale — Stock Has Soared 570%

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).