Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Reduced by NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan

Key Points

• The NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan reduced its Microsoft Corporation stake by 2.2%, owning 115,300 shares worth approximately $43.3 million after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter.
• CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares at an average price of $504.78, representing a 15.87% decrease in his holdings, while EVP Takeshi Numoto also sold shares, reflecting a broader trend of insider sales.
• Barclays and other analysts have set a consensus price target for Microsoft at $612.54, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Moderate Buy" as the company continues to perform well.

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,300 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.6% of NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan's holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Fosun International Ltd lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Guidance Point Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Orin Green Financial LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the software giant's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 540 shares of the software giant's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale 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 business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $495.00 on Friday. 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 $509.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $450.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04.

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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.