Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Private Advisor Group LLC's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% to 609,628 shares during the first quarter, making it the firm's 7th largest holding worth approximately $228.8 million.
• Microsoft reported impressive earnings with $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.35, along with revenues of $76.44 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, set to be paid on September 11th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 609,628 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 9,236 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.4% of Private Advisor Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $228,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 stock. 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 Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $2.95 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $506.69. 20,949,937 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,296,634. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, 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 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $508.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $447.85.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $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 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.