Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock: NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Raises Position

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 10.1% in the third quarter, adding 24,121 shares to hold 261,801 shares worth about $136.8 million. Microsoft represented 3.2% of its portfolio and was its fifth-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.89 and revenue of $92.28 billion; revenue grew 18.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share from $0.91.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $609.54. Recent service outages, competition in workplace AI tools, and questions about returns on AI spending remain concerns.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 261,801 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 24,121 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.2% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $136,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DWR Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 13.7% during the third quarter. DWR Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Haven Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Haven Capital Group Inc. now owns 9,802 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,027,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 88,096 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $45,184,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the period. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,599,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Sacks & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $602,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Yorkville Ives began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $615.00 price target for the company. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Microsoft from $662.00 to $722.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Microsoft News Summary

Here's some of the latest news about MSFT:

• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest quarterly results were strong: earnings per share and revenue exceeded estimates, with revenue up 18.8% year over year. That performance supports the longer-term growth case, although recent outage and competition headlines have drawn investor attention. Microsoft earnings and financial data
• Negative Sentiment: A prolonged global outage disrupted Outlook, Teams, Copilot and other services across more than 70 countries, affecting businesses and public agencies. Even as service recovered, the incident raised questions about Microsoft’s reliability and customers’ dependence on its cloud infrastructure. Inside Microsoft’s response to the global outage
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is also weighing on sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools threaten Microsoft 365 and Copilot, while Microsoft’s substantial AI infrastructure spending raises questions about returns on investment. Competition concerns around Microsoft

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $0.88 on Friday, hitting $523.88. The stock had a trading volume of 26,130,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,173,096. The stock's 50 day moving average is $519.00 and its 200-day moving average is $441.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $559.15. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,809 shares of company stock worth $74,769,646. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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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