Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $13.53 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,040 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.6% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $2.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $506.69. The stock had a trading volume of 20,949,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,697,436. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $508.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $446.67. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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.