Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Purchased by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 969,392 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 34,656 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.9% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $497,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 55,236 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,604,000 after buying an additional 3,546 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $75,641,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $101,311,000 after acquiring an additional 83,734 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Microsoft from $608.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 135,504 shares of company stock worth $68,138,024 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s free-cash-flow position may offer some reassurance: an analysis notes that several other major AI hyperscalers are generating negative free cash flow, while Microsoft is generating positive cash flow. Is Microsoft Getting Enough Credit for Better Free Cash Flow Compared to its Peers?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft plans to reduce the number of neocloud partners it uses, wind down rented AI capacity from Oracle, and declined a Texas data-center expansion with Nscale. This could help control costs and give Microsoft tighter oversight as it builds its own infrastructure, but the implications for capacity growth remain uncertain. Microsoft plans to use fewer neoclouds as AI buildout shows signs of strain
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may read the canceled or reduced AI-computing commitments as a sign that Microsoft is reassessing demand, project timing, or returns on its data-center spending. The shift comes as reports highlight construction delays and the rising cost of meeting a growing AI backlog, intensifying scrutiny of whether heavy investment will pay off. Microsoft is winding down Oracle deal to rent AI cloud capacity, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: Broader unease around AI spending and tech-market volatility may also weigh on MSFT, as investors question the scale of data-center investment relative to future cash returns. Microsoft and Oracle’s AI ambitions are suddenly a lot more expensive

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $530.61 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $516.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $440.18.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.00%.

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.

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