Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,845 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,952 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.0% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 155.7% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents 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 corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $515.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $510.90 and a 200-day moving average of $455.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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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