Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Trimmed by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Key Points

• Wambolt & Associates LLC has reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation by 6.9%, selling 1,833 shares and now holding 24,878 shares valued at $9.5 million.
• Analysts have raised their target prices on Microsoft's shares, with DA Davidson increasing theirs from $600 to $650 and Truist Financial boosting it from $650 to $675, reflecting a general sentiment of a "buy" rating.
• Microsoft reported earnings of $3.65 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and showing an 18.1% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Wambolt & Associates LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,878 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,833 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.2% of Wambolt & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Wambolt & Associates LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of MSFT traded down $12.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $495.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,963,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,697,988. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company's 50-day moving average is $509.93 and its 200-day moving average is $450.85. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, August 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

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.