Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Bell Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 32.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,176 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,220 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 7.4% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 39,661 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,342,000 after buying an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the third quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 12,928 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,631,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Meadowbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the third quarter. Meadowbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,336 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,250,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.3% in the third quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 465,911 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $238,966,000 after purchasing an additional 27,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 37,670 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,321,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $665.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of MSFT opened at $533.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $517.80 and a 200 day moving average of $441.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two 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. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.87 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.00%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and IBM introduced Imagine Enterprise, a platform combining IBM’s library of more than 6,000 AI agents with Microsoft’s cloud, data and security tools. The partnership could help drive enterprise demand for Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. IBM and Microsoft Announce a New AI Agent Platform Designed for Industry-Specific Transformation
• Positive Sentiment: A five-year partnership with Ohio State University will apply Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology to healthcare, research and education, adding another potential customer and use case. Ohio State and Microsoft announce five-year strategic partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly urged the administration to drop a proposed ban on Chinese data-center technology, warning that restrictions could complicate data-center deployment. The outcome could affect equipment access and rollout timing. Microsoft presses Trump to scuttle expected ban on Chinese data-center technology
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic unveiled workplace tools that could compete with Microsoft Office, including spreadsheet-related capabilities. The move raised concerns about competition in Microsoft’s enterprise software business. Anthropic unveils office suite to challenge Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: A hot inflation report and rising bond yields weighed on the broader market, creating an additional headwind for technology shares. Stock market coverage on inflation and technology shares

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% 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 have sold a total of 142,809 shares of company stock valued at $72,114,646 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.