Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter, now holding approximately $8.4 million worth of shares.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Microsoft, with Bank of America and TD Cowen both setting new targets of $640, while Melius Research increased its target to $625.
• Microsoft recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.91 per share, up from $0.83, representing an annual yield of 0.7%.

Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,796 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.6% of Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Melius Research lifted their target price on Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $517.35 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $512.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft 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.

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