Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,677 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.0% of Hager Investment Management Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Hager Investment Management Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 2,593 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,047,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% in the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased 8%: Microsoft’s board raised the quarterly dividend by $0.07 to $0.98 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation and improving shareholder returns. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend increase
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Citizens JMP reaffirmed a “Market Outperform” rating and a $550 price target, implying additional upside from the reported $497.12 reference price. Other recent commentary highlights Azure growth, Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s enterprise software strength.
- Positive Sentiment: Greater Azure transparency could help the stock: Microsoft plans to report Azure revenue, rather than only its growth rate, in quarterly results. The move could make the cloud business easier to value and allow investors to better assess whether AI infrastructure spending is translating into revenue. Microsoft Azure revenue reporting
- Positive Sentiment: Upcoming product catalyst: Microsoft scheduled a Windows and Surface event for October 7, where investors expect updates on next-generation hardware and on-device AI capabilities. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
- Neutral Sentiment: AI safety positioning: Microsoft’s draft “Humanist AI” code of conduct emphasizes human control, outside testing and limits on model behavior. The framework may improve trust and reduce regulatory risk, although a slower development approach could raise questions about competitiveness and commercialization.
- Negative Sentiment: Executive selling adds a modest overhang: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares worth approximately $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about Microsoft’s outlook, but it adds to recent insider-selling activity.
- Negative Sentiment: AI execution and security concerns remain: Investors continue to weigh Microsoft’s heavy data-center investment against the time required to generate returns, while coverage of a recent large security patch highlights ongoing cybersecurity risks.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $564.27.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $497.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $460.39 and a 200-day moving average of $420.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 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 firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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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