Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Acquires 1,589 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,518 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.2% of Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MSFT opened at $373.02 on Wednesday. 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 market cap of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $408.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company 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 company posted $3.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 21.67%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued strength in Microsoft’s Azure cloud and AI businesses, with bullish commentary saying demand remains robust and that the recent selloff may be creating a more attractive entry point. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors cited Microsoft’s security business as a potential growth driver, while recent partnership news and product integrations suggest the company is still expanding its enterprise ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street coverage remained constructive, with firms such as Deutsche Bank and Erste Group lifting their outlooks, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s long-term earnings power remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced product and ecosystem updates, including a new Marketplace listing and broader AI/security-related integrations, which are supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several opinion pieces argued the stock may be oversold and could rebound, but these were largely valuation-driven commentary rather than new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed scrutiny over AI spending, with multiple stories noting the stock’s sharp June decline as investors worry that massive AI capex is not translating into profits quickly enough. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms and reports flagged securities-fraud class actions tied to alleged misstatements about Copilot and Azure, adding legal uncertainty and potential headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of another round of job cuts and from antitrust attention in Europe, both of which can weigh on sentiment even if they help costs over time. 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).