Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Ariel Investments LLC

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC has reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 3.1%, holding 123,894 shares valued at approximately $46.5 million after selling 4,009 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple analysts have recently increased their price targets for Microsoft, with Barclays setting a target at $625, while Jefferies Financial Group raised theirs to $675.
• Insider sales have occurred, including CEO Satya Nadella selling 149,205 shares at an average price of $504.78, reducing his holding by 15.87%.

Ariel Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,894 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,009 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $46,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the 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 directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $509.90 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $510.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $453.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Company 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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