Johnson Financial Group Inc. Acquires 96,634 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Johnson Financial Group acquired 96,634 Microsoft shares worth approximately $36.0 million in the second quarter, making Microsoft its 10th-largest holding and about 1.2% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft insiders sold 143,009 shares worth roughly $71.4 million over the past three months, including substantial sales by executives Takeshi Numoto and Amy Hood. Insiders retain only 0.03% of the company’s outstanding shares.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings and revenue above consensus estimates, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $578.73. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 96,634 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $36,046,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.2% of Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 37.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $60,000. Glynn Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 34.2% in the second quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $101,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. William Blair assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $578.73.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $501.15 and a 200 day moving average of $435.10.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

About Microsoft

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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