Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Amy Hood Sells 7,305 Shares of Company Stock

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.37, for a total transaction of $3,976,622.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 548,091 shares in the company, valued at $298,364,297.67. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Amy Hood also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 13th, Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of Microsoft stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10.
• On Monday, September 14th, Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $12.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $533.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,852,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,465,410. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $517.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.69. The company has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.13 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.92 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is 19.00%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and IBM launched Imagine Enterprise, an AI-agent platform combining IBM’s industry expertise and more than 6,000 prebuilt agents with Microsoft’s cloud, data and security services. It could support enterprise AI adoption and cloud demand. IBM and Microsoft Launch AI Agent Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and Ohio State University announced a five-year partnership applying Microsoft cloud and AI technology to healthcare, research and education, adding a large institutional collaboration. Ohio State and Microsoft Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly pressed the U.S. administration to drop a proposed ban on Chinese data-center technology. Avoiding restrictions could help limit supply-chain disruption, but the outcome remains uncertain. Microsoft and proposed Chinese technology ban
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic unveiled workplace AI tools that could compete with Microsoft Office, including Excel-like functionality. The announcement raised concerns about competition in Microsoft’s enterprise software business. Anthropic Unveils Office Suite
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also face concerns that heavy AI investment could pressure future margins and returns. Microsoft’s pullback from some neocloud projects was described as an execution issue, even as Azure demand remains a supportive factor. Microsoft Azure growth and spending risks

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Evercore upgraded Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Griffin Securities lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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.