Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd reduced its Microsoft stake by 2.9% in the third quarter, selling 12,724 shares. It still held 428,858 shares valued at about $220 million, making Microsoft its fourth-largest portfolio position.
• Microsoft insiders sold 147,809 shares worth a total of approximately $74.8 million over the last quarter. CEO Satya Nadella’s sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.89 and revenue of $92.28 billion, up 18.8% year over year; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $609.54.

Perpetual Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 428,858 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 12,724 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.4% of Perpetual Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $219,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the third quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 88,096 shares of the software giant's stock worth $45,184,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the third quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Sacks & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $602,000. Roan Capital Partners bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,903 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,131,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.00, for a total transaction of $2,655,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,892,772. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 147,809 shares of company stock worth $74,769,646 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Investors following MSFT have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reported improving availability and said Outlook email queues were approaching normal levels, easing some immediate concern about the disruption. One analyst reiterated a Buy rating and a $630 price target, citing Azure growth of 48% and expected growth of 49%–50% in fiscal Q2. Microsoft outage recovery update Analyst Buy rating and price target
• 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: 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 NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $523.88. The company had a trading volume of 26,130,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,173,096. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $559.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $519.00 and its 200-day moving average is $441.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $630.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Griffin Securities cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, November 6th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.54.

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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