Nelson Capital Management LLC Sells 1,159 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Nelson Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,452 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,159 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.6% of Nelson Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Nelson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $505.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. 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 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $509.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $448.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company'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 value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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