Flatrock Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,612 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,188,000. Microsoft makes up 1.4% of Flatrock Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.
Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Arete Research upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $556.37.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Trending Headlines about Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI to strengthen Europe-focused AI infrastructure and bring Mistral models deeper into Microsoft’s cloud and AI platforms, reinforcing its long-term AI growth story. Reuters article on Microsoft funding Mistral’s European AI expansion
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley turned constructive on Microsoft, saying sentiment on software stocks has become too negative and assigning MSFT an Overweight rating with a $600 price target. Investopedia article on Morgan Stanley software picks
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators say Microsoft could be undervalued heading into earnings, with several pieces arguing the stock may be a bargain if Azure growth and AI execution improve. TipRanks article on Microsoft as a bargain ahead of earnings
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal Q4 results on July 29, and investors are focusing on Azure growth, AI spending, and Copilot adoption as the key questions for the call. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft earnings and Azure growth
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded AI deal with AMD also supports the bull case for Azure infrastructure, but it underscores that Microsoft is still spending heavily to secure future AI capacity rather than immediately harvesting profits. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft expanding AMD partnership
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued fresh class-action reminders tied to Microsoft’s alleged AI misstatements, keeping legal risk in the spotlight and adding pressure on sentiment. Pomerantz class-action alert for Microsoft investors
- Negative Sentiment: Headlines about a securities fraud lawsuit and allegations that Microsoft overstated Copilot functionality may weigh on the stock by reinforcing concerns around AI execution and disclosure. PR Newswire lawsuit notice on Microsoft Copilot functionality
Microsoft Stock Down 1.1%
MSFT stock opened at $397.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $399.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $409.57.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).
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