Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is First Foundation Advisors' Largest Position

Key Points

• First Foundation Advisors has reduced its Microsoft stock holdings by 1.3%, now owning 1,028,833 shares worth approximately $386.2 million, making it the firm's largest position.
• Microsoft's stock traded down to $495.00, with a market cap of $3.68 trillion, and recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with $76.44 billion in revenue.
• Several analysts have upgraded Microsoft's stock, with price targets being raised to as high as $675.00, reflecting strong bullish sentiment among analysts.

First Foundation Advisors cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,028,833 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 13,724 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 15.7% of First Foundation Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its largest position. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $386,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its position 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 worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,375,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Microsoft Stock Down 2.6%

MSFT traded down $12.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $495.00. 31,963,969 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,697,988. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $509.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.85. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. 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 company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

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.