Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Increased by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,438,421 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 45,816 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 6.1% of Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.15% of Microsoft worth $4,293,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $507.23 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $506.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $444.52. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.06.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,850 shares of company stock valued at $4,406,512. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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 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.

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