Vancity Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Vancity Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,202 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,674 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 10.7% of Vancity Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Vancity Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $78,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In 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 company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $379.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $412.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $425.90.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $561.20.

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).