3,619 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Acquired by Strategic Equity Management

Key Points

• Strategic Equity Management acquired 3,619 Microsoft shares worth approximately $1.35 million, making Microsoft 0.5% of its portfolio. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $578.73. Microsoft also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue.
• Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 from $0.91, while insiders—including CEOs Satya Nadella and Judson Althoff—have sold shares worth about $71.4 million over the past three months.

Strategic Equity Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,619 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,350,000. Microsoft comprises 0.5% of Strategic Equity Management's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Strategic Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $639,000. Northcape Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $6,707,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $239,551,000. Geneva Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,551,000. Finally, Portland Financial Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $554,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $578.73.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

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

Microsoft Company Profile

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.