Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Wright Investors Service Inc.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. has decreased its stake in Microsoft by 2.6%, holding 39,607 shares, which represents 5.9% of its total investments, making Microsoft its largest position.
• Several analysts have projected a positive outlook for Microsoft, with price targets raised to as high as $675.00 and the consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy."
• Microsoft recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91, an increase from the previous $0.83, with a payout ratio of 24.34% and an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,607 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,040 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.9% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $614.45.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%

MSFT stock opened at $511.46 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day moving average price is $512.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.19.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

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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