Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock: Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Decreases Stake

Key Points

• Cypress Asset Management cut its Microsoft stake by 2% in the third quarter, selling 987 shares; it retained 48,657 shares valued at about $25 million, its fourth-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $4.89 per share and $92.28 billion in revenue, up 18.8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $609.54.

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,657 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 987 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.1% of Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX's holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Microsoft Trading Down 2.3%

MSFT opened at $521.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $559.15. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.13 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.46%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here's some of the latest news about MSFT:

• 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: 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Evercore raised Microsoft from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $665.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. One 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 7.24% 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. Insiders have sold 142,809 shares of company stock valued at $72,114,646 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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