Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• McAlister Sweet & Associates cut its Microsoft stake by 86.8% in the third quarter, selling 12,697 shares and retaining 1,935 shares valued at about $993,000.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 18.8% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $609.54.
• Reports say Microsoft is consolidating AI-computing partners and winding down rented Oracle capacity, amid scrutiny of data-center costs and returns; the article also notes Microsoft continues to generate positive free cash flow.

McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 86.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 12,697 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.8% of McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant's stock worth $117,744,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,944,917 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Microsoft by 12.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,418,076,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 555,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $302,924,086.32. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s free-cash-flow position may offer some reassurance: an analysis notes that several other major AI hyperscalers are generating negative free cash flow, while Microsoft is generating positive cash flow. Is Microsoft Getting Enough Credit for Better Free Cash Flow Compared to its Peers?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft plans to reduce the number of neocloud partners it uses, wind down rented AI capacity from Oracle, and declined a Texas data-center expansion with Nscale. This could help control costs and give Microsoft tighter oversight as it builds its own infrastructure, but the implications for capacity growth remain uncertain. Microsoft plans to use fewer neoclouds as AI buildout shows signs of strain
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may read the canceled or reduced AI-computing commitments as a sign that Microsoft is reassessing demand, project timing, or returns on its data-center spending. The shift comes as reports highlight construction delays and the rising cost of meeting a growing AI backlog, intensifying scrutiny of whether heavy investment will pay off. Microsoft is winding down Oracle deal to rent AI cloud capacity, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: Broader unease around AI spending and tech-market volatility may also weigh on MSFT, as investors question the scale of data-center investment relative to future cash returns. Microsoft and Oracle's AI ambitions are suddenly a lot more expensive

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $530.61 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $559.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $516.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $440.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.13 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

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.

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

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