Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Stableford Capital II LLC

Key Points

• Stableford Capital II LLC cut its Microsoft stake by 4.7% in the third quarter, selling 1,405 shares; it still held 28,797 shares valued at about $14.77 million.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates, reporting adjusted earnings of $4.89 per share and revenue of $92.28 billion, up 18.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share from $0.91.
• Analyst sentiment remained broadly positive: MarketBeat reported a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $609.54, although Griffin Securities downgraded the stock to neutral.

Stableford Capital II LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,797 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,405 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.9% of Stableford Capital II LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Stableford Capital II LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.9% during the second quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 55,236 shares of the software giant's stock worth $20,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,546 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock worth $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,641,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 44.6% in the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $700.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. Griffin Securities lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.3%

Microsoft stock opened at $521.13 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $559.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $518.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $441.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 142,809 shares of company stock valued at $72,114,646 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Investors following MSFT have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud and AI businesses continue to attract enterprise use. A new IBM partnership combines Microsoft’s cloud, data and security services with more than 6,000 AI agents; Northern Trust also reported that an agent built with Microsoft cut data-preparation time by 83%. IBM and Microsoft announce an AI agent platform Northern Trust leans on Microsoft to boost agentic AI
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools—including spreadsheet and data-focused products—are the clearest near-term overhang, raising fears that AI competitors could challenge Microsoft’s large Office and productivity-software business. Microsoft stock slides after Anthropic launches productivity tools
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is pushing back against a potential U.S. ban on Chinese data-center components point to a possible obstacle for equipment access and data-center deployment—important given the company’s AI infrastructure needs. Microsoft presses to scuttle expected ban on Chinese data-center technology

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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