21,817 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Eleva Capital SAS

Eleva Capital SAS acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,817 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,190,000. Microsoft makes up 9.4% of Eleva Capital SAS’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.3% during the third quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 19,603 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,052,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Microsoft by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 40,886 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,970,000 after buying an additional 6,602 shares during the last quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,409 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the third quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,071,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 price target on the stock. Griffin Securities cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $302,924,086.32. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $530.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $516.65 and its 200-day moving average is $440.18. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.00%.

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.