Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Newly Acquired by DeLarme Wealth Management Inc.

Key Points

• DeLarme Wealth Management initiated a Microsoft position worth approximately $734,000, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 42 Buy ratings, four Holds and two Sells; MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $578.73.
• Microsoft recently exceeded earnings expectations, reporting $4.74 in quarterly EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,967 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $734,000. Microsoft accounts for 0.4% of DeLarme Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $75,701,000. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 24,135 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,003,000 after acquiring an additional 5,016 shares in the last quarter. Bantamac Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,044,000. SSI Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,478,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,425,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.73.

Trending Headlines about 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $553.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $501.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost 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%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This 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. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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.

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