North Star Investment Management Corp. Decreases Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• North Star Investment Management Corp. has decreased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6%, owning 96,617 shares worth approximately $48.06 million, making Microsoft its fourth largest position.
• Microsoft has recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.83 to $0.91 per share, scheduled for payment on December 11th, which indicates a 0.7% yield.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Microsoft's future, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of approximately $618.47.

North Star Investment Management Corp. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,617 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.3% of North Star Investment Management Corp.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $48,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $523.98 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $513.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $469.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $618.47.

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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