17,981 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Northcape Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Northcape Wealth Management purchased 17,981 Microsoft shares worth approximately $6.7 million, making Microsoft its 10th-largest holding at 1.8% of the portfolio. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 42 Buy, four Hold and two Sell ratings and an average price target of $578.73, although recent insider selling and regulatory risks remain factors for investors.

Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,981 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,707,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $239,551,000. Geneva Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $2,551,000. Portland Financial Advisors Inc bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $554,000. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $2,576,000. Finally, United Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $8,836,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $501.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $435.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value 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. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered Microsoft from an "overweight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $578.73.

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.

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