Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Acquired by Diversified Management Inc.

Key Points

• Diversified Management increased its Microsoft holdings by 24.8% in the third quarter, adding 2,426 shares to reach 12,194 shares valued at approximately $6.25 million.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.89 versus $4.72 expected and revenue of $92.28 billion, up 18.8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $3.92 and a 0.8% yield.

Diversified Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 24.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,194 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of Diversified Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Diversified Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mann Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.3% in the second quarter. Mann Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,921 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.13 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $559.15. The stock 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $518.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $441.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 142,809 shares of company stock worth $72,114,646. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Weiss Ratings raised Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $700.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Key Microsoft News

Investors following MSFT have been watching these news items:

• 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: 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
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s reported $10.9 billion quarterly adjusted operating loss has renewed questions about the profitability of Microsoft’s major AI partnership and the returns on its AI investment. Microsoft’s OpenAI bet and questions raised by Anthropic’s profit lead

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.

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