WealthPLAN Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

WealthPLAN Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 30.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,035 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,243 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.0% of WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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 purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth 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, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced an expanded strategic partnership with AMD to deploy Helios systems across Azure, reinforcing its AI infrastructure buildout and giving the stock a near-term boost. Microsoft expands AMD partnership with Helios AI infrastructure deployment on Azure
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are framing Microsoft as attractively valued ahead of earnings, with some highlighting upside from Azure growth, AI execution, and Copilot adoption if management delivers strong commentary. Microsoft Stock Price Offers ‘Attractive Entry Point,’ Says Deutsche Bank Ahead of Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is approaching fiscal Q4 earnings on July 29, and investors are watching for updates on Azure growth, AI spending, and whether Copilot is gaining traction. Microsoft earnings to spotlight Azure growth, AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is also being weighed down by a new securities-fraud lawsuit tied to prior AI/Copilot disclosures, which could add legal and reputational overhang ahead of earnings. MSFT Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Microsoft Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of MSFT opened at $402.29 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $400.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $410.17. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.46.

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).