Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by CX Institutional

Key Points

• CX Institutional increased its stake in Microsoft by 9.7% during the second quarter, owning a total of 92,380 shares worth approximately $45.95 million.
• Microsoft announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.91, payable on December 11th, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.64 and a yield of 0.7%.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Microsoft, with Jefferies Financial Group setting a new target of $675.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,380 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 8,204 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.6% of CX Institutional's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. CX Institutional's holdings in Microsoft were worth $45,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Arete increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $618.47.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $510.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $513.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $471.16. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.