Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Purchases 25,814 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 346,475 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 25,814 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.6% of Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $129,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after purchasing an additional 9,814,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after buying an additional 2,784,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $12,235,785,000 after buying an additional 458,014 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $497.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $460.39 and a 200-day moving average of $420.90.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased 8%: Microsoft’s board raised the quarterly dividend by $0.07 to $0.98 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation and improving shareholder returns. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Citizens JMP reaffirmed a “Market Outperform” rating and a $550 price target, implying additional upside from the reported $497.12 reference price. Other recent commentary highlights Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s enterprise software strength.
• Positive Sentiment: Greater Azure transparency could help the stock: Microsoft plans to report Azure revenue, rather than only its growth rate, in quarterly results. The move could make the cloud business easier to value and allow investors to better assess whether AI infrastructure spending is translating into revenue. Microsoft Azure revenue reporting
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming product catalyst: Microsoft scheduled a Windows and Surface event for October 7, where investors expect updates on next-generation hardware and on-device AI capabilities. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Neutral Sentiment: AI safety positioning: Microsoft’s draft “Humanist AI” code of conduct emphasizes human control, outside testing and limits on model behavior. The framework may improve trust and reduce regulatory risk, although a slower development approach could raise questions about competitiveness and commercialization.
• Negative Sentiment: Executive selling adds a modest overhang: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares worth approximately $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about Microsoft’s outlook, but it adds to recent insider-selling activity.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and security concerns remain: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s heavy data-center investment against the time required to generate returns, while coverage of a recent large security patch highlights ongoing cybersecurity risks.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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