Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Lifted by Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 39.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 613,956 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 174,601 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 14.6% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $314,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Hedeker Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 55,236 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,641,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $101,311,000 after buying an additional 83,734 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,504 shares of company stock worth $68,138,024. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northern Trust introduced an AI-powered client-onboarding agent running on Microsoft Azure, with Excel and SharePoint integration. The reported reductions in data-preparation time and strong data-quality results illustrate potential enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools. Microsoft stock and Northern Trust AI agent
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly becoming more selective about outside AI data-center and neocloud arrangements, including not renewing a cloud contract involving Oracle. Tighter spending could support cash flow, but changes to its infrastructure plans may also raise questions about capacity and execution. Microsoft AI data-center deals
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment remains a key risk: one report said Microsoft’s free cash flow over the last four quarters was about 23% below the prior-year period, amid rising infrastructure spending. A large reported backlog signals demand, but investors will look for that spending to translate into returns. Microsoft backlog, AI capex and neocloud ties
• Negative Sentiment: B&D White Capital, a fund with roughly $1.03 billion in assets, reported selling all its Microsoft shares in the third quarter. The filing is backward-looking and does not establish the fund’s reason for selling, but it may add to near-term sentiment concerns. B&D White Capital share sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Microsoft from $662.00 to $722.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $545.18 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $559.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $517.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $440.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.92 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

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. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.

Microsoft serves customers around the world through its products, online platforms, and network of business partners.

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