Lawood & Co. trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 41.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,773 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,769 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.3% of Lawood & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Lawood & Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the second quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,593,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the third quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% in the second quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mann Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mann Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,921 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $521.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $518.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $441.37. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $559.15.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm 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 dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.46%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $610.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.
Get Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Microsoft News Summary
Here’s some of the latest news about MSFT:
- 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
- Neutral Sentiment: Evercore said Anthropic’s Claude Sheets is not yet a substitute for Excel, tempering concerns that the new tools will quickly displace Microsoft 365. Still, the launch puts competitive pressure on Microsoft’s productivity products and Copilot. Evercore weighs disruption concerns after Claude Sheets launch
- 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
Insider Activity
In other Microsoft 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 transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.37, for a total transaction of $3,976,622.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 548,091 shares in the company, valued at $298,364,297.67. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft 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.
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