Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Lowered by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.6%, making it the company's 4th largest holding with approximately $219.6 million in shares.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Microsoft, with Bank of America raising its target from $585 to $640 and Barclays issuing a target of $625, reflecting strong investor confidence.
• Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.7%, to be paid on September 11th.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 584,567 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 41,099 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.3% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $219,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $1,375,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $12.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $495.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,963,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,259,959. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $509.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

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.