1,595 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Forum Private Client Group LLC

Key Points

• Forum Private Client Group LLC initiated a Microsoft position by purchasing 1,595 shares valued at approximately $595,000; institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 42 Buy ratings, four Holds and two Sells, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $589.71. Recent targets range as high as $665, though some firms have downgraded or reduced their estimates.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding expectations, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. CEO Satya Nadella and other insiders have also sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Forum Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,595 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $595,000. Microsoft accounts for about 0.2% of Forum Private Client Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $101,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research lowered Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research set a $665.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $589.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $675 from $525 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing accelerating Azure and Microsoft 365 growth driven by artificial intelligence. The firm believes Microsoft’s valuation remains reasonable despite its recent rally. UBS raises Microsoft price target
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms have lifted their targets, with analysts highlighting Azure momentum, approximately 30 million Copilot seats, Microsoft’s commercial backlog and the potential for a larger-than-usual earnings beat. The October 28 results will provide an important test of whether AI spending is translating into revenue and profit.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Maia 300 custom AI accelerator is expected to scale across Azure data centers and reportedly deliver more tokens per megawatt than conventional GPU systems. The chip could reduce inference costs and Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia and AMD hardware. Microsoft Maia 300 AI chip
• Positive Sentiment: AI care-management company Tucuvi joined Microsoft’s Pegasus startup program, potentially expanding Microsoft’s enterprise AI pipeline and go-to-market reach in healthcare. Microsoft also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91, signaling continued confidence in cash generation. Tucuvi joins Microsoft Pegasus Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Azure management is seeking roughly 20% cost reductions could improve efficiency and margins, but also underscore the pressure created by Microsoft’s substantial AI data-center investments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s $10 million contribution to a White House ballroom project is unlikely to affect near-term financial results, though it could attract political or reputational scrutiny. Microsoft White House ballroom contribution
• Negative Sentiment: Higher inflation and bond yields have pressured AI valuations and raised concerns about the financing cost and returns of large infrastructure projects. Microsoft’s strong balance sheet makes it less vulnerable than smaller AI companies, but valuation sensitivity remains a risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to Hold, while reports of security vulnerabilities, executive share sales and intense competition from rapidly growing AI companies add caution. Amy Hood’s sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $539.44 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The stock's 50 day moving average is $504.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $439.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.