Howe & Rusling Inc. Acquires 6,880 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 89,886 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 6,880 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.2% of Howe & Rusling Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. President Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $400.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $411.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft’s Nadella rips Anthropic’s Fable restrictions in staff meeting: ‘Doesn’t make sense’
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

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).