Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Increased by Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,681 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,762 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.3% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, New Street Research reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.86.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish voices argue the selloff has made Microsoft look oversold, with analysts and strategists like Dan Ives calling the pullback a buying opportunity and pointing to Microsoft’s long-term AI and cloud strength. Dan Ives Says the $3 Trillion Tech Wipeout Is a Buying Opportunity. Here’s His Case
• Positive Sentiment: Michael Burry disclosed long-dated call options on Microsoft, a signal that at least one high-profile investor sees significant upside over the next several years. “Big Short” Legend Michael Burry Just Bet Big on Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced new enterprise partnerships, including integrations that expand its cloud, AI, and cybersecurity ecosystem, which supports the long-term growth story. Microsoft (MSFT) Expands Operations With a New Strategic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles frame the stock’s recent weakness as a value-versus-trap debate, reflecting uncertainty rather than a clear new catalyst. Microsoft Stock: Value Trap or Buying Opportunity?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing fresh regulatory and legal scrutiny, including an EU gatekeeper review, an Italy antitrust probe, and a copyright lawsuit tied to AI training data, which adds headline risk. Microsoft (MSFT) Faces EU Gatekeeper Move And Italy Antitrust Probe
• Negative Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment has also turned more cautious, with Stifel cutting its price target and keeping a Hold rating amid margin concerns. Stifel Lowers PT on Microsoft (MSFT), Maintains a Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Investor lawsuits and class-action notices related to alleged securities fraud and Copilot deficiencies are adding to sentiment pressure around the stock. Deadline Alert: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Shareholders Who Lost Money Urged To Contact Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP About Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $368.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $409.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $420.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 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 has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was 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 owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).