Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Raised by Everhart Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Everhart Financial Group increased its Microsoft stake by 8.1% in the third quarter, adding 4,670 shares to hold 62,525 shares valued at about $32.1 million.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $4.89 and revenue of $92.28 billion; revenue rose 18.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $609.54. The article also notes concerns about elevated AI infrastructure spending and its impact on free cash flow.

Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,525 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 4,670 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.0% of Everhart Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Everhart Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northern Trust introduced an AI-powered client-onboarding agent running on Microsoft Azure, with Excel and SharePoint integration. The reported reductions in data-preparation time and strong data-quality results illustrate potential enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools. Microsoft stock and Northern Trust AI agent
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly becoming more selective about outside AI data-center and neocloud arrangements, including not renewing a cloud contract involving Oracle. Tighter spending could support cash flow, but changes to its infrastructure plans may also raise questions about capacity and execution. Microsoft AI data-center deals
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment remains a key risk: one report said Microsoft’s free cash flow over the last four quarters was about 23% below the prior-year period, amid rising infrastructure spending. A large reported backlog signals demand, but investors will look for that spending to translate into returns. Microsoft backlog, AI capex and neocloud ties
• Negative Sentiment: B&D White Capital, a fund with roughly $1.03 billion in assets, reported selling all its Microsoft shares in the third quarter. The filing is backward-looking and does not establish the fund’s reason for selling, but it may add to near-term sentiment concerns. B&D White Capital share sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $630.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $545.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $517.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $440.69. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $559.15.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.92 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. 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 currently 19.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 owned 533,624 shares in the company, 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 90 days, insiders sold 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

Microsoft serves customers around the world through its products, online platforms, and network of business partners.

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