Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Sells 11,066 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Osterweis Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft by 5.1% during Q1, selling 11,066 shares, leaving it with 204,234 shares valued at approximately $76.7 million.
• Several institutional investors are actively adjusting their positions in Microsoft, with Norges Bank investing over $44 billion and Vanguard Group raising its stake to 684 million shares worth $288 billion.
• Microsoft announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.83 to $0.91 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,234 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 11,066 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 0.0% of Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $76,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,343,058,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after purchasing an additional 46,579,693 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $515.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 2.23 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. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $510.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $455.45. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.

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