Simplicity Wealth LLC Trims Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Simplicity Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 48,472 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,814 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.4% of Simplicity Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. BLVD Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $416.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $400.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.60. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas sees significant upside potential for Microsoft, citing strong AI demand, more than 25 million expected paid Copilot seats, and Azure growth that could stay above 40%. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has taken a large Microsoft position, which some investors view as a vote of confidence in the long-term AI thesis. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term AI beneficiary, with some saying recent weakness may be creating an attractive entry point. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s recent earnings beat was solid, but the stock has remained weak since the post-earnings sell-off, suggesting investors are focused more on forward guidance and AI spending than last quarter’s results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also benefiting from broader AI ecosystem news, including new products and governance tools built around Microsoft Foundry, which supports the company’s enterprise AI platform narrative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces question whether Microsoft’s AI infrastructure spending is becoming too costly, with criticism centered on “compute” expenses and possible margin pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft was also the subject of a bearish Seeking Alpha note warning that its planned AI infrastructure spending could weigh on returns and valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines highlight that major holders such as the Gates Foundation have exited Microsoft, adding to investor concern about shifting sentiment among large shareholders. Article Title

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).