Apella Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC has increased its position in Microsoft by 1.4%, owning 79,821 shares valued at approximately $39.73 million, making it the firm's 22nd largest investment.
• Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.91 per share, up from $0.83, with a payout ratio of 24.34% and a 0.7% dividend yield.
• Several brokerage firms have raised their price targets for Microsoft, with Mizuho setting a new target of $625.00 and Scotiabank increasing theirs to $650.00, indicating strong market confidence in the company's future performance.

Apella Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,821 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.1% of Apella Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $4.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $509.91. 7,260,959 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,143,365. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $511.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $459.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.