Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,235 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,701 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.2% of Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 500.0% in 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 worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft said it will embed Anthropic’s Claude Mythos into its secure development lifecycle (Project Glasswing) to find and mitigate vulnerabilities earlier — a move that strengthens Microsoft’s AI-security offering and underpins enterprise trust in Azure and dev tools. Microsoft to integrate Anthropic’s Mythos into its security development program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing remains strong: KeyBanc reiterated an Overweight rating (with a $600 target) and other firms continue to publish high price targets, supporting upside expectations into earnings. Is Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) a Top AI Play on Azure Growth and Memory Supply Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft cut Xbox Game Pass prices (and reshaped Call of Duty access) to win back gamers — a consumer-facing move that may boost subscription growth and engagement, and has been received positively by the market. Microsoft cuts Game Pass subscription prices after new Xbox CEO promises to ‘recommit’ to gamers
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Microsoft’s push to be the “agentic AI internet” backbone — messaging that fuels investor optimism around Azure and platform monetization. “We Do Not Have Conflicting Interests….” Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Gains on New Plan to be the Agentic AI Internet’s Backbone
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn promoted longtime COO Daniel Shapero to CEO while Ryan Roslansky takes a broader Microsoft role — an orderly internal transition that reduces execution risk but is unlikely to move core financials in the near term. LinkedIn’s CEO is moving on; please hold your tearful video tributes
• Negative Sentiment: A U.K. tribunal ruled Microsoft must face a mass $2.8 billion lawsuit alleging overcharging on cloud licences — a large headline risk that could pressure sentiment and create legal/legal-cost uncertainty. Microsoft must face $2.8 billion UK lawsuit over cloud computing licences
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary (e.g., “Code Red” pieces) suggests some investors worry Microsoft is losing momentum in parts of the AI race — such narratives can amplify short-term selling pressure ahead of earnings. Microsoft’s Code Red Is Real: Can It Keep Up in the AI Race?

Microsoft Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $432.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $392.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $452.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Microsoft from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. New Street Research upped their price target on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Benchmark started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $576.66.

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).