Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Acquired by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 186,310 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 7.9% of Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $95,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% 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 a total of 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $535.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $516.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $439.80. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $559.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent results provide a counterpoint: Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while strong Azure demand and AI adoption support growth in its cloud business. MSFT Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Azure Growth and AI Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s decision not to take up an option to expand Nscale’s Texas data-center capacity appears connected to construction delays and tighter scrutiny of infrastructure partners. It may reflect capital discipline and project execution concerns, rather than a broad retreat from AI investment. Microsoft tightens oversight of neocloud data center projects
• Negative Sentiment: The abandoned expansion has stoked investor concerns about delayed AI capacity coming online and whether heavy data-center investment will generate sufficient cloud returns. Reports of an AI-spending shortfall have also weighed on sentiment toward infrastructure partners and Microsoft’s growth outlook. Why Microsoft Stock is Down Today
• Negative Sentiment: Technology shares sold off broadly late Thursday, adding sector-wide pressure to MSFT. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Tumble Late Afternoon

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.