Capital Advantage Inc. Sells 1,357 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Capital Advantage cut its Microsoft stake by 8.4% in the second quarter, selling 1,357 shares and retaining 14,843 shares valued at $5.54 million.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.89, above the $4.72 estimate, while revenue rose 18.8% year over year to $92.28 billion.
• Microsoft 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.

Capital Advantage Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,843 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,357 shares during the period. Capital Advantage Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $85,604,000 after buying an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $75,641,000. GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 44.6% in the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock worth $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $9,430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure’s reported 48% growth helped lift Microsoft amid an AI-related tech rebound. Commentary also points to AI demand exceeding available capacity and argues Microsoft can fund its expansion from strong cash flow—an advantage as investors scrutinize rivals’ borrowing and spending. Article: What's Going on with Microsoft Stock on Tuesday? Article: Why Microsoft Was Rewarded for Spending Less on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s AI tools may reach a broader base of PC users: the company says AI can run on a computer with 8GB of memory, potentially supporting adoption of Copilot and related services. Article: AI on an 8GB PC? Yes, Says Microsoft
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox’s reveal of a new Elder Scrolls title drew attention to Microsoft’s gaming business, but the article provides no indication of near-term financial impact. Article: Microsoft Stock Rises After The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel Reveal
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha contributor downgraded Microsoft, arguing that the easiest gains may be behind the stock—an assessment that could temper expectations after its recent strength. Article: Microsoft: The Easy Gains Are Already Over (Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s reported $45.2 billion in quarterly capital spending, largely for AI, underscores the risk that infrastructure costs could weigh on cash flow before returns fully materialize. Reports of buyouts offered to roughly 60,000 employees may also prompt questions about workforce changes. Article: 5 questions to ask if your boss offers you a buyout

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. KeyCorp set a $625.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $302,924,086.32. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $520.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $551.15. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $514.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $438.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 19.00%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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