Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 7.8% in the second quarter, making Microsoft its 5th largest position with holdings valued at $32.67 million.
• Insider sales included EVP Takeshi Numoto selling 4,850 shares, a 11.03% decrease in his ownership, and CEO Satya Nadella selling 149,205 shares, decreasing his ownership by 15.87%.
• Despite a recent 1.0% decline in stock price, analysts have set new price targets for Microsoft, with TD Cowen raising their target to $640.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,688 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 4,765 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.3% of Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $509.23 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $512.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

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.

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