Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Lifted by Northstar Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Northstar Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 295.4% in Q2, making it the firm's 3rd largest position with a value of approximately $14.9 million.
• Microsoft reported a Q2 EPS of $3.65, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue up 18.1% year-over-year at $76.44 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.91 per share, set to be paid in December, raising its annual dividend yield to 0.7%.

Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 295.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,988 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 22,403 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 7.3% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Northstar Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Next Level Private LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the second quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 13,179 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,556,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 28,086 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $13,970,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 275.2% in the second quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 7,967 shares during the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the second quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,074 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,990,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.1% in the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 129,159 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $64,245,000 after acquiring an additional 2,664 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $517.93 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $511.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $458.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm 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.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 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 assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

About Microsoft

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.