Ally Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Ally Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 110.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.5% of Ally Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Ally Financial Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altrafin AG bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $29,426,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 52,178 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,247,000 after buying an additional 2,518 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 52,475 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,378,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 28,674 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,867,000 after buying an additional 4,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 137,960 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,720,000 after buying an additional 3,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $390.74 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $411.08 and its 200 day moving average is $428.95. The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.41 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Arete Research increased their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.20.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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).