Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Bought by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Navellier & Associates increased its Microsoft stake by 6.2% in the second quarter, purchasing 1,095 additional shares for a total holding of 18,830 shares valued at approximately $7.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft insiders sold roughly $75.4 million of stock over the past 90 days, including CEO Satya Nadella’s sale of 86,525 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, both above analyst expectations, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $592.15. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,830 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 8,773 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,641,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,430,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. 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 sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and earnings expectations remain strong. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and forecast approximately 44.8% Azure growth. Analysts expect quarterly results to be broadly in line with estimates, with Azure strength potentially offsetting heavy investment in AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Forecast: BofA Reaffirms Buy Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom silicon and security businesses could support future cloud margins. The Maia AI accelerator and other internally developed chips may reduce reliance on Nvidia, improve cost control and retain more economics from Microsoft’s AI services. Investors are also watching whether security growth helps offset data-center expenses. Microsoft: Security And Silicon Set The Stage For Cloud Margin Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: Medical AI results add another potential growth opportunity. Microsoft’s MAI-DxO reportedly diagnosed complex cases more than twice as often as general physicians in a simulation, strengthening the company’s positioning in healthcare AI, although commercialization and regulatory hurdles remain. Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose sequentially like a doctor
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is a major near-term catalyst. Investors will focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization, capital expenditures, backlog conversion and management’s outlook. The stock is trading near its yearly high, raising expectations for a strong forecast. Microsoft's Earnings Problem: Even Great May Not Be Enough
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and market conditions could pressure valuation and margins. Investors have recently sold some technology shares when companies raised infrastructure budgets, while a weaker overall market and higher oil prices have added volatility. Microsoft’s large data-center investment must translate into revenue growth to justify the spending. Microsoft Earnings Report To Focus On AI Momentum, Capex
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and product concerns remain. Microsoft withdrew from a U.K. data-center deal because of power-delivery delays, and Xbox cloud-streaming price changes have generated customer friction. Former CEO Bill Gates has also warned about AI safety risks, potentially increasing regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft pulls out of UK Nscale data centre deal over power delay

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MSFT opened at $524.51 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $508.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $446.17. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Melius Research set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $592.15.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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