Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Has $69.43 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,552 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.5% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $69,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. China Renaissance dropped their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. CLSA started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $556.37.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $397.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $399.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $409.57. The company has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. 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.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its strategic partnership with Mistral AI to strengthen Europe-focused AI infrastructure and bring Mistral models deeper into Microsoft’s cloud and AI platforms, reinforcing its long-term AI growth story. Reuters article on Microsoft funding Mistral’s European AI expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley turned constructive on Microsoft, saying sentiment on software stocks has become too negative and assigning MSFT an Overweight rating with a $600 price target. Investopedia article on Morgan Stanley software picks
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators say Microsoft could be undervalued heading into earnings, with several pieces arguing the stock may be a bargain if Azure growth and AI execution improve. TipRanks article on Microsoft as a bargain ahead of earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is scheduled to report fiscal Q4 results on July 29, and investors are focusing on Azure growth, AI spending, and Copilot adoption as the key questions for the call. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft earnings and Azure growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded AI deal with AMD also supports the bull case for Azure infrastructure, but it underscores that Microsoft is still spending heavily to secure future AI capacity rather than immediately harvesting profits. Proactive Investors article on Microsoft expanding AMD partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued fresh class-action reminders tied to Microsoft’s alleged AI misstatements, keeping legal risk in the spotlight and adding pressure on sentiment. Pomerantz class-action alert for Microsoft investors
• Negative Sentiment: Headlines about a securities fraud lawsuit and allegations that Microsoft overstated Copilot functionality may weigh on the stock by reinforcing concerns around AI execution and disclosure. PR Newswire lawsuit notice on Microsoft Copilot functionality

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).