Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Acquires 9,011 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,324 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 9,011 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.8% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. First United Bank & Trust grew its position in Microsoft by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 15,015 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the second quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 85,671 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $31,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the second quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,947 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 12,758 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,759,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rydar Equities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 11.1% in the second quarter. Rydar Equities Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,756,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $497.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $460.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $420.90. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. CLSA reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased 8%: Microsoft’s board raised the quarterly dividend by $0.07 to $0.98 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation and improving shareholder returns. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Citizens JMP reaffirmed a “Market Outperform” rating and a $550 price target, implying additional upside from the reported $497.12 reference price. Other recent commentary highlights Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s enterprise software strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Greater Azure transparency could help the stock: Microsoft plans to report Azure revenue, rather than only its growth rate, in quarterly results. The move could make the cloud business easier to value and allow investors to better assess whether AI infrastructure spending is translating into revenue. Microsoft Azure revenue reporting
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming product catalyst: Microsoft scheduled a Windows and Surface event for October 7, where investors expect updates on next-generation hardware and on-device AI capabilities. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Neutral Sentiment: AI safety positioning: Microsoft’s draft “Humanist AI” code of conduct emphasizes human control, outside testing and limits on model behavior. The framework may improve trust and reduce regulatory risk, although a slower development approach could raise questions about competitiveness and commercialization.
• Negative Sentiment: Executive selling adds a modest overhang: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares worth approximately $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about Microsoft’s outlook, but it adds to recent insider-selling activity.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and security concerns remain: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s heavy data-center investment against the time required to generate returns, while coverage of a recent large security patch highlights ongoing cybersecurity risks.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's 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 completion of 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 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. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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