Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,900 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $516.79 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $511.72 and a 200 day moving average of $478.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Melius Research raised their target price on Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wedbush raised their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $618.97.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $20,624,012.52. The trade was 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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