Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 17% in the second quarter, acquiring 68,966 additional shares for a total of 474,527 shares valued at approximately $177.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: 43 analysts rate Microsoft a Buy, with an average target price of $569.29, while recent firms raised targets and UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, beating estimates, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, although CEO Satya Nadella and other insiders have recently sold shares.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 474,527 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 68,966 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.6% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $177,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sidoxia Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.4% during the second quarter. Sidoxia Capital Management LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the second quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 57,808 shares of the software giant's stock worth $21,563,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 135,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $50,593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares in the last quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. now owns 2,214 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $826,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,843 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $129,752,000 after acquiring an additional 49,178 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $569.29.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $497.93 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $475.48 and a 200-day moving average of $425.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is increasing. Stifel upgraded Microsoft to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $575, citing Azure and Copilot growth, durable margins, and a path for AI spending to produce stronger revenue. Jefferies also reaffirmed its Buy rating, while other analysts highlighted potential upside. Why These Wall Street Analysts Think Microsoft Stock Is Getting Back on Track
• Positive Sentiment: Azure demand remains the central growth catalyst. Reports point to a roughly $678 billion backlog and the need for Microsoft to add data-center capacity quickly enough to serve existing customers. Azure Red Hat OpenShift for Azure Government also received DoD Impact Level 5 certification, expanding its use among government and highly regulated customers. Azure Red Hat OpenShift Achieves IL5 Certification
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. The company plans to invest more than $10 billion in Gulf-region cloud, AI, connectivity and cybersecurity infrastructure through 2030, potentially supporting long-term regional demand. Microsoft Plans Gulf Investment

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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