1,200 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by General Partner Inc.

General Partner Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,151 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.9% of General Partner Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. General Partner Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Hedeker Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 55,236 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,546 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 8,773 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,641,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 83,734 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Microsoft from $608.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group set a $700.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $530.61 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $516.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. 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.

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 firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for 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 for the quarter 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. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.00%.

Key Headlines 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% 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. Insiders sold 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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