Amiral Gestion Acquires 2,250 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Amiral Gestion boosted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,969 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 16.7% of Amiral Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Amiral Gestion’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 25.3% in the first quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 8,648 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 19,942 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,382,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 4.3% during the first quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 17,380 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,434,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 20,862 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nautilus Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Nautilus Advisors LLC now owns 5,504 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,037,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued strength in Microsoft’s Azure cloud and AI businesses, with bullish commentary saying demand remains robust and that the recent selloff may be creating a more attractive entry point. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors cited Microsoft’s security business as a potential growth driver, while recent partnership news and product integrations suggest the company is still expanding its enterprise ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street coverage remained constructive, with firms such as Deutsche Bank and Erste Group lifting their outlooks, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s long-term earnings power remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced product and ecosystem updates, including a new Marketplace listing and broader AI/security-related integrations, which are supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several opinion pieces argued the stock may be oversold and could rebound, but these were largely valuation-driven commentary rather than new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed scrutiny over AI spending, with multiple stories noting the stock’s sharp June decline as investors worry that massive AI capex is not translating into profits quickly enough. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms and reports flagged securities-fraud class actions tied to alleged misstatements about Copilot and Azure, adding legal uncertainty and potential headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of another round of job cuts and from antitrust attention in Europe, both of which can weigh on sentiment even if they help costs over time. Article Title

Microsoft Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $373.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $408.34 and a 200-day moving average of $419.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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 presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Arete Research raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. President Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.86.

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).