Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock: Chapin Davis Inc. Raises Stake

Key Points

• Chapin Davis increased its Microsoft stake by 10.4% in the third quarter, adding 2,762 shares to reach 29,234 shares valued at about $15 million. Microsoft represents 3% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 18.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Microsoft has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $609.54, above the article’s cited share price of $521.13.

Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,234 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.0% of Chapin Davis Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Chapin Davis Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prosperity Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $294,000. Hardin Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% in the third quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Post Resch Tallon Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the third quarter. Post Resch Tallon Group Inc. now owns 4,822 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Financial Designs Corp acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $297,000. Finally, LifeGoal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 152.9% during the third quarter. LifeGoal Investments LLC now owns 11,554 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,986 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $559.15. The business's 50 day moving average is $518.20 and its 200 day moving average is $441.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion during 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%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. 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%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Yorkville Ives started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $615.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price target 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 given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. 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 have sold a total of 142,809 shares of company stock worth $72,114,646 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

These are some of the MSFT headlines that stood out recently:

• 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

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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