Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lessened by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

Key Points

• S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 9.5%, holding 26,101 shares valued at approximately $12.98 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Recent transactions included significant insider sales by Microsoft executives, notably CEO Satya Nadella, who sold 149,205 shares for nearly $75.32 million, representing a 15.87% decrease in ownership.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.91 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.7%, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,101 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,739 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.1% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 155.7% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $9.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $517.93. 52,313,925 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,095,838. The business has a 50-day moving average of $511.71 and a 200 day moving average of $458.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush boosted their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.