Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Sells 222,480 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 80.8% during the 2nd quarter, leaving it with 52,912 shares valued at approximately $26.3 million.
• In recent analyst ratings, TD Cowen raised its price target for Microsoft from $580 to $640 and gave it a "buy" rating, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock.
• Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.83, with the dividend yield now at 0.7%.

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 80.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,912 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 222,480 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $38,298,000. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 11.7% in the second quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 14,933 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 390,270 shares of the software giant's stock worth $194,124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 10,228 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,088,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% in the second quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wedbush upped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $3.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $514.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,977,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,503,336. The company has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The business's 50-day moving average is $511.71 and its 200-day moving average is $458.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.