Lazari Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,568 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,106 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.1% of Lazari Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Lazari Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $259,539,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,314,509 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 564,387.1% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $45,040,162,000 after purchasing an additional 90,533,328 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 62,267,822 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,374,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306,485 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Stock Performance
MSFT opened at $513.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $512.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced 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 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%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $618.47.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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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