Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is HF Advisory Group LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 9.8%, making it the fund's second largest position, with a total value of approximately $6.97 million.
• Microsoft recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, up from $0.83, with an anticipated yield of 0.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 24.34%.
• Multiple research analysts have raised their price targets for Microsoft stock, with the average consensus target now at $614.45, reflecting strong growth expectations for the company.

HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,009 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.8% of HF Advisory Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. HF Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,405 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Fosun International Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 6,326 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% in the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%

MSFT stock opened at $511.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $512.03 and its 200 day moving average is $462.06. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $614.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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