Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Increased by Riversedge Advisors LLC

Riversedge Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 19.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,142 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,445 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.0% of Riversedge Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Riversedge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,928,664,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,653,812,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,000,706,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Investors following MSFT have been watching these headlines:

• Neutral Sentiment: Griffin Securities downgraded Microsoft to neutral despite Azure’s reported 48% growth, adding a cautious analyst view amid market volatility. Azure Grew 48%, Yet Griffin Securities Downgraded Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: An outage disrupted Outlook, Teams, Microsoft 365 and Copilot. Service interruptions can frustrate customers and raise questions about reliability, though Microsoft said it was working to restore access. Outlook, Teams and More Microsoft Programs Disrupted by Outage
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools, including spreadsheet software, are intensifying concerns about competition with Microsoft 365 and Copilot. Microsoft Stock Falls as Anthropic Takes Aim at Office Work

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $608.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $523.00 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $559.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $518.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $441.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 1.53 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 19.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.00, for a total transaction of $2,655,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,892,772. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 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 147,809 shares of company stock valued at $74,769,646 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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.