Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Lane Brothers & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 3,936 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of Lane Brothers & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a 20-year power agreement with Chevron for Project Kilby, a 2.67-gigawatt natural-gas-powered data center in West Texas. The deal underscores Microsoft’s commitment to expanding AI/cloud capacity and helps secure long-term electricity for its growing data center needs. Article: Chevron signs power supply deal with Microsoft for Texas data center
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles argue Microsoft’s selloff has made the stock attractive, citing history that suggests a rebound and pointing to still-strong AI and cloud fundamentals. These pieces may be encouraging bargain hunters and long-term investors. Article: History Suggests a Rebound Ahead, Says Top Investor About Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also being highlighted for new AI banking connections and deeper enterprise AI integrations, reinforcing the idea that its AI monetization story is still progressing. Article: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Notches Up With New AI Banking Connections
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary around Satya Nadella’s remarks suggests Microsoft wants broader, cheaper, and more trusted AI rather than a winner-take-all model race. That may help the company strategically, but it is more of a long-term positioning story than an immediate stock catalyst. Article: Why Microsoft Needs to Carve its Own AI Path
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing fresh securities class action/lawsuit headlines tied to alleged disclosures about Copilot and Azure. Even if the legal impact is uncertain, this adds an overhang for investors. Article: Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Microsoft Corporation
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish notes continue to question whether Microsoft’s best growth days are behind it, and some analysts are keeping a cautious stance despite the lower valuation. That skepticism can limit upside in the near term. Article: Microsoft: The Best Days Are Behind It

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $373.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $412.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.55. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Dbs Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Microsoft from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.20.

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).