Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Sells $3,984,293.10 in Stock

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Amy Hood also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 14th, Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $9.76 on Wednesday, hitting $533.69. 22,189,457 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,153,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $503.23 and a 200 day moving average of $437.50.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $117,744,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,944,917 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,306,443,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Evercore raised Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $581.24.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI chip, which it says can deliver approximately 40% more tokens per megawatt than comparable GPU-based systems. The chip is planned for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers and could reduce the company’s reliance on Nvidia and AMD, potentially lowering long-term AI infrastructure costs. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain focused on Azure’s growth ahead of Microsoft’s fiscal first-quarter results on October 28. Barclays raised its price target to $600 from $512 and expects the quarter to show stronger differentiation in Microsoft’s software business. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of more than $130 billion in new data-center leases highlight robust demand for Azure and AI infrastructure, although the commitments also underscore the scale of Microsoft’s capital requirements. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is scheduled to report earnings later this month, with consensus estimates calling for approximately $4.72 in earnings per share and $90.4 billion in revenue. Azure growth and management’s outlook for AI spending are likely to be the main catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Microsoft’s aggressive AI buildout is pressuring free cash flow and margins. Reports that Azure management is seeking at least 20% in cost reductions reflect efforts to offset soaring data-center expenses and raise questions about the near-term payoff from the investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs Cost Cuts in Azure
• Negative Sentiment: A Phillip Securities downgrade from “moderate buy” to “hold,” along with concerns about elevated valuation near record highs, added pressure. Hot inflation and higher interest rates are also weighing on AI-related stocks, particularly companies with heavy infrastructure spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft also issued patches addressing more than 1,400 security flaws, reinforcing continuing cybersecurity concerns, while the departure of Microsoft Research leader Peter Lee adds a limited leadership-overhang risk.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft’s productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.