Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Whelan Financial

Whelan Financial grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,184 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.2% of Whelan Financial's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Whelan Financial's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in 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 period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $504.24 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $505.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $443.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,850 shares of company stock valued at $4,406,512. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

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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