Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Lessened by Stableford Capital II LLC

Stableford Capital II LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,797 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,405 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.9% of Stableford Capital II LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. State Street Corp increased 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 purchasing an additional 8,944,917 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in 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 valued at $24,013,297,000 after buying an additional 543,172 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,418,076,000 after buying an additional 5,019,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $518.20 and a 200-day moving average of $441.37. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $559.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 142,809 shares of company stock valued at $72,114,646 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

These are some of the MSFT headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s cloud and AI businesses continue to attract enterprise use. A new IBM partnership combines Microsoft’s cloud, data and security services with more than 6,000 AI agents; Northern Trust also reported that an agent built with Microsoft cut data-preparation time by 83%. IBM and Microsoft announce an AI agent platform Northern Trust leans on Microsoft to boost agentic AI
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools—including spreadsheet and data-focused products—are the clearest near-term overhang, raising fears that AI competitors could challenge Microsoft’s large Office and productivity-software business. Microsoft stock slides after Anthropic launches productivity tools
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s reported $10.9 billion quarterly adjusted operating loss has renewed questions about the profitability of Microsoft’s major AI partnership and the returns on its AI investment. Microsoft’s OpenAI bet and questions raised by Anthropic’s profit lead

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.