Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Castle Rock Wealth Management cut its Microsoft position by 7.7% in the third quarter, selling 1,685 shares and ending the period with 20,277 shares worth about $10.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment remained broadly positive: MarketBeat reported a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $609.54, with 46 analysts rating the stock Buy.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 18.8% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,277 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,685 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.0% of Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. David J Yvars Group increased its stake in Microsoft by 200.4% in the 3rd quarter. David J Yvars Group now owns 23,032 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $11,813,000 after buying an additional 45,970 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% in the third quarter. Cypress Financial Planning LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Thryve Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 13.1% during the third quarter. Thryve Wealth Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the software giant's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,240 shares of the software giant's stock worth $66,800,000 after buying an additional 3,929 shares during the period. Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $630.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Investors following MSFT have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s upcoming Ignite conference is drawing attention to Azure and Copilot developments, reinforcing the company’s AI-growth story. Bill Ackman also described Microsoft’s competitive position as “really, really strong,” arguing that enterprise relationships and its established products remain valuable. Microsoft Is Off Its Record High. Next Week Could See the Stock Reignited. Bill Ackman says Microsoft's position is strong
• Positive Sentiment: ETF activity showed net buying of Microsoft shares on Nov. 10, with 53 funds buying and 16 selling, a potential sign of institutional demand. ETFs Are Buying Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools, including spreadsheet software, are intensifying concerns about competition with Microsoft 365 and Copilot. Microsoft Stock Falls as Anthropic Takes Aim at Office Work

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $523.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $559.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $518.72 and a 200 day moving average of $441.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share 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 given a $0.98 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.00, for a total value of $2,655,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,892,772. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's 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 owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 147,809 shares of company stock worth $74,769,646 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

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.

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