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

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $302,924,086.32. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• 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 value of $20,764,903.98.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $533.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $504.15 and a 200-day moving average of $438.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost 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 currently 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

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Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom AI accelerator, designed for multi-gigawatt deployment across Azure data centers. Management says it can deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt than a GPU-based system, potentially lowering inference costs and reducing reliance on Nvidia and AMD hardware. What Could Microsoft Gain From Its Maia 300 AI Chip Rollout?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism remains focused on Azure growth, Microsoft’s AI backlog, and more than $130 billion in reported data-center leases. The scale of commitments supports long-term demand for Azure and Copilot, although it also raises capital-spending risks. Microsoft Reports $130 Billion in Data Center Leases
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its Microsoft price target to $600 from $512 and expects the upcoming fiscal first-quarter report to show improving differentiation in software. Earnings are scheduled for October 28. Microsoft Price Target Raised by Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure chief reportedly seeks at least 20% cost cuts in an effort to offset soaring AI data-center expenses. The move could improve efficiency and margins, but it also highlights pressure from the company’s aggressive investment cycle. Microsoft Weighs 20% Cost Cuts in Azure
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is introducing new AI-enabled Surface devices and an Xbox Nano Controller, supporting its broader push to put generative AI into consumer hardware. These products are strategically relevant but are unlikely to materially affect near-term results.
• Negative Sentiment: Hot inflation data pushed bond yields higher and triggered a broad selloff in AI-related shares, increasing concern that expensive AI infrastructure projects may face higher financing costs and tougher valuation scrutiny.
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft to “hold,” while Erste Group made a minor reduction to its FY2028 earnings forecast. These actions add to near-term caution following the stock’s strong run.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares worth approximately $4.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and represents only 1.3% of her holdings, it is a limited bearish signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft issued security updates addressing more than 1,400 vulnerabilities could renew concerns about cybersecurity exposure, though patching the flaws is ultimately protective.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $117,744,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,944,917 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $24,013,297,000 after buying an additional 543,172 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $18,306,443,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $581.24.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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