Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock: Versant Capital Management Inc Increases Position

Key Points

• Versant Capital Management increased its Microsoft stake by 0.8% in the third quarter, adding 1,461 shares to reach 186,310 shares valued at about $95.6 million; Microsoft is its largest holding.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft shares. In contrast, company insiders sold 135,504 shares worth roughly $68.1 million over the past 90 days, through pre-arranged trading plans.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 18.8% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,310 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 7.9% of Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $95,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $117,744,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,944,917 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock worth $24,013,297,000 after purchasing an additional 543,172 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Microsoft by 12.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,418,076,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction 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. The trade was 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,504 shares of company stock worth $68,138,024. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent results provide a counterpoint: Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while strong Azure demand and AI adoption support growth in its cloud business. MSFT Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Azure Growth and AI Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s decision not to take up an option to expand Nscale’s Texas data-center capacity appears connected to construction delays and tighter scrutiny of infrastructure partners. It may reflect capital discipline and project execution concerns, rather than a broad retreat from AI investment. Microsoft tightens oversight of neocloud data center projects
• Negative Sentiment: The abandoned expansion has stoked investor concerns about delayed AI capacity coming online and whether heavy data-center investment will generate sufficient cloud returns. Reports of an AI-spending shortfall have also weighed on sentiment toward infrastructure partners and Microsoft’s growth outlook. Why Microsoft Stock is Down Today
• Negative Sentiment: Technology shares sold off broadly late Thursday, adding sector-wide pressure to MSFT. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Tumble Late Afternoon

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of MSFT opened at $535.93 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $516.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $439.80. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $559.15. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.46%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company's principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

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