Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Purchased by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 465,911 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,517 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.3% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $238,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted 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 valued at $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $75,641,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 83,734 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other 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 owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 142,809 shares of company stock worth $72,114,646 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $533.16 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $559.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $517.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $441.10. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. 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%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.00%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and IBM introduced Imagine Enterprise, a platform combining IBM’s library of more than 6,000 AI agents with Microsoft’s cloud, data and security tools. The partnership could help drive enterprise demand for Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. IBM and Microsoft Announce a New AI Agent Platform Designed for Industry-Specific Transformation
• Positive Sentiment: A five-year partnership with Ohio State University will apply Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology to healthcare, research and education, adding another potential customer and use case. Ohio State and Microsoft announce five-year strategic partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly urged the administration to drop a proposed ban on Chinese data-center technology, warning that restrictions could complicate data-center deployment. The outcome could affect equipment access and rollout timing. Microsoft presses Trump to scuttle expected ban on Chinese data-center technology
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic unveiled workplace tools that could compete with Microsoft Office, including spreadsheet-related capabilities. The move raised concerns about competition in Microsoft’s enterprise software business. Anthropic unveils office suite to challenge Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: A hot inflation report and rising bond yields weighed on the broader market, creating an additional headwind for technology shares. Stock market coverage on inflation and technology shares

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.