8,343 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.

Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 140,817 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 8,343 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.1% of Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $72,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the third quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,071,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.7% in the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 969,392 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $497,201,000 after buying an additional 34,656 shares during the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the third quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 84,108 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,139,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the third quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,198 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,231,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 294,841 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $151,224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 Trading Down 1.0%

Microsoft stock traded down $5.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $530.61. The stock had a trading volume of 26,926,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,422,492. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $516.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $440.18. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $559.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 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 issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 19.00%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the 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. The trade was 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 sold 135,504 shares of company stock worth $68,138,024 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up from $610.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Microsoft from $662.00 to $722.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Yorkville Ives began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 target price on the stock. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.