Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Chelsea Counsel Co.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Chelsea Counsel Co. reduced its position in Microsoft by 7.6% in Q2, holding 22,070 shares worth approximately $10.98 million, making it their second-largest investment.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.91, up from $0.83, with a payout date of December 11th.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Microsoft, with hedge funds owning 71.13% of the company’s stock, showcasing strong investor interest.

Chelsea Counsel Co. lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,070 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,810 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.4% of Chelsea Counsel Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Chelsea Counsel Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% in the first quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.6% in the first quarter. Real Talk Capital LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $457,119,000 after purchasing an additional 33,382 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 39.3% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,852 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $54,376,000 after purchasing an additional 40,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Well Done LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 8.9% in the second quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,930,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $513.58 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $511.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $477.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Melius Research upped their target price on Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $618.97.

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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