Okabena Investment Services Inc. Sells 5,044 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Okabena Investment Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,864 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,044 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.0% of Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 16.6% during the first quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 555,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and earnings expectations remain strong. Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and forecast approximately 44.8% Azure growth. Analysts expect quarterly results to be broadly in line with estimates, with Azure strength potentially offsetting heavy investment in AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Forecast: BofA Reaffirms Buy Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom silicon and security businesses could support future cloud margins. The Maia AI accelerator and other internally developed chips may reduce reliance on Nvidia, improve cost control and retain more economics from Microsoft’s AI services. Investors are also watching whether security growth helps offset data-center expenses. Microsoft: Security And Silicon Set The Stage For Cloud Margin Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: Medical AI results add another potential growth opportunity. Microsoft’s MAI-DxO reportedly diagnosed complex cases more than twice as often as general physicians in a simulation, strengthening the company’s positioning in healthcare AI, although commercialization and regulatory hurdles remain. Microsoft develops AI tool that can diagnose sequentially like a doctor
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is a major near-term catalyst. Investors will focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization, capital expenditures, backlog conversion and management’s outlook. The stock is trading near its yearly high, raising expectations for a strong forecast. Microsoft’s Earnings Problem: Even Great May Not Be Enough
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and market conditions could pressure valuation and margins. Investors have recently sold some technology shares when companies raised infrastructure budgets, while a weaker overall market and higher oil prices have added volatility. Microsoft’s large data-center investment must translate into revenue growth to justify the spending. Microsoft Earnings Report To Focus On AI Momentum, Capex
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and product concerns remain. Microsoft withdrew from a U.K. data-center deal because of power-delivery delays, and Xbox cloud-streaming price changes have generated customer friction. Former CEO Bill Gates has also warned about AI safety risks, potentially increasing regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft pulls out of UK Nscale data centre deal over power delay

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Microsoft from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.15.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $524.51 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $508.51 and its 200-day moving average is $446.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 20.27%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.