1,164 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Athena Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Athena Wealth Management increased its Microsoft stake by 13.1% in the third quarter, adding 1,164 shares to hold 10,077 shares valued at about $5.17 million.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up 18.8% year over year. It also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $609.54; meanwhile, company insiders sold 147,809 shares worth about $74.8 million over three months.

Athena Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,077 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.7% of Athena Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Athena Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 37,923 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $19,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 55,366 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,397,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,524 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 29,234 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,995,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $294,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,809 shares of company stock worth $74,769,646. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MSFT opened at $523.00 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $559.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $518.72 and a 200-day moving average of $441.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 19.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore upgraded Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank reissued a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Key Microsoft News

These are some of the MSFT news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s upcoming Ignite conference is drawing attention to Azure and Copilot developments, reinforcing the company’s AI-growth story. Bill Ackman also described Microsoft’s competitive position as “really, really strong,” arguing that enterprise relationships and its established products remain valuable. Microsoft Is Off Its Record High. Next Week Could See the Stock Reignited. Bill Ackman says Microsoft's position is strong
• Negative Sentiment: An outage disrupted Outlook, Teams, Microsoft 365 and Copilot. Service interruptions can frustrate customers and raise questions about reliability, though Microsoft said it was working to restore access. Outlook, Teams and More Microsoft Programs Disrupted by Outage
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools, including spreadsheet software, are intensifying concerns about competition with Microsoft 365 and Copilot. Microsoft Stock Falls as Anthropic Takes Aim at Office Work

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.

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