Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Cut by Ketron Financial

Key Points

• Ketron Financial reduced its Microsoft stake by 11.1% in the second quarter, selling 3,994 shares and retaining 32,056 shares valued at approximately $12.0 million. Microsoft remains the fund’s sixth-largest holding and represents 3.7% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 17.7% year over year. Shares opened at $517.53, near their 52-week high of $553.72.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 43 Buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation, although some firms lowered price targets. Microsoft also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, while executives Amy Hood and Satya Nadella sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Ketron Financial lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,056 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,994 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of Ketron Financial's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Ketron Financial's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial raised its position in Microsoft by 6.2% in the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Sequent Planning LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,052,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. American Investment Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. American Investment Services Inc. now owns 876 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $517.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $490.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $430.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $571.18.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and AI demand remain the primary catalyst. Investor data and analyst commentary point to accelerating Azure demand, while Microsoft’s recent earnings showed its fastest cloud growth in four years. The improving demand is helping ease concerns that the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending will not generate adequate returns. Ca$htag: MSFT Azure Cloud Drives Soaring Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo added Microsoft to its Q4 Tactical Ideas list and raised its price target to $725, citing Azure’s growth potential and the prospect of improved AI monetization through Copilot. The action adds to a series of bullish analyst revisions; one report noted that 52 analysts covering Microsoft currently have no sell ratings. With Azure as a Catalyst, Microsoft Is Positioned for Sustained Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s OpenAI relationship provides potential additional value. Investors are increasingly focused on Microsoft’s stake and commercial partnership with OpenAI, particularly ahead of a possible OpenAI initial public offering that could provide a market reference for the investment. OpenAI’s Future IPO Keeps Me Buying Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced new real-time AI speech models for customer-service agents, multilingual assistants and voice interfaces. The products broaden Microsoft’s enterprise AI offering and could support additional cloud consumption and software revenue. Microsoft Targets Contact Center Market With Real-Time AI Voice Models
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting Microsoft’s October 7 Surface and Windows event. New hardware or Windows updates could support the ecosystem, although the event has not yet produced a material earnings catalyst. Microsoft Stock Notches Up Ahead of the Surface Show
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include heavy AI capital spending, valuation concerns and broader market concentration. Critics argue that rising data-center capacity could pressure compute pricing and returns, while strategists warn that a market correction could disproportionately affect megacap technology stocks. Microsoft’s dividend remains affordable, but AI infrastructure spending and lease commitments could limit future dividend growth. Morgan Stanley Strategist Sees Market Drawdown Potential

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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