Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Sells 2,531 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Live Oak Private Wealth LLC reduced its Microsoft stake by 6%, selling 2,531 shares and retaining 39,987 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees to reduce costs and redirect resources toward AI, data centers and other strategic priorities. Investors are also focused on Azure growth, Copilot monetization and the company’s upcoming fiscal first-quarter earnings report.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $594.11. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, while insiders have sold approximately 150,314 shares worth $75.4 million over the past three months.

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,987 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,531 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.9% of Live Oak Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after acquiring an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $18,306,443,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K. The program is aimed at reducing costs and reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence, data centers and other strategic priorities. Investors appear to view the move as a way to help offset the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets ahead of earnings. Oppenheimer lifted its target to $625 from $570, while Truist raised its target to $600 from $575 and maintained a Buy rating, citing resilient Azure growth and strong enterprise demand. Oppenheimer raises Microsoft target ahead of earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects continued momentum in Azure and Copilot monetization. Microsoft reports fiscal first-quarter results on October 28, making cloud growth, AI demand and spending efficiency important near-term catalysts. Microsoft stock gains as Wall Street sees Azure growth

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $532.60 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $508.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $437.18. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.66 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. William Blair began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $575.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $594.11.

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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