Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Purchases 1,871 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 9.9%, now holding a total of 20,762 shares, valued at approximately $10.3 million, making Microsoft its 10th largest investment.
• Microsoft reported strong financial results, with $76.44 billion in revenue for the latest quarter and an EPS of $3.65, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, up from $0.83, illustrating its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,762 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,871 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.1% of Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 155.7% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MSFT traded down $3.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $514.45. 19,977,512 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,228,887. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $511.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.74.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 26.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, 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.

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.