Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Lessened by First Financial Corp IN

Key Points

• First Financial Corp IN decreased its stake in Microsoft by 2.7%, now owning 17,698 shares valued at about $8.8 million, making it the fund's fourth largest position.
• CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares at an average price of $504.78, resulting in a 15.87% decrease in his ownership of the company's stock.
• Microsoft has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.91 from $0.83, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.64 and a payout ratio of 24.34%.

First Financial Corp IN lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,698 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 495 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.9% of First Financial Corp IN's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. First Financial Corp IN's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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 period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 155.7% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business'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 value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business'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 transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $517.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $511.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $458.74. 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 released 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 business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

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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