Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock: Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Decreases Stake

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,706 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,425 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.0% of Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $28,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Echo45 Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.3% during the third quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 4,519 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.2% during the third quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 34,125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 9,551 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 3,613 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kwmg LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the third quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 22,385 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,481,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 135,504 shares of company stock worth $68,138,024. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories 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

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $530.61 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $559.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $516.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $440.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.92 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. TD Cowen upped their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Evercore raised shares of Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, CLSA reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.54.

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.

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