J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. Takes $7.88 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 16,299 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $7,883,000. Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $373.94 on Wednesday. The stock 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. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $412.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $423.55.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. China Renaissance reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Arete Research upped their price target on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, 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. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Company 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).