Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lifted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4%, now owning over 8 million shares, making it the firm’s largest holding at 4.3% of its overall portfolio.
• Microsoft's latest earnings report showed a strong performance with $76.44 billion in revenue and an EPS of $3.65, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Microsoft, with UBS Group setting it at $650.00, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock amidst a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,272,626 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 194,201 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.3% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.11% of Microsoft worth $3,108,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $16,075,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 54,910 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,144,000 after buying an additional 2,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $498.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $510.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $452.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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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