Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,321 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,376 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.1% of Silver Oak Securities Incorporated's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant's stock worth $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 564,387.1% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant's stock worth $45,040,162,000 after buying an additional 90,533,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $459.86 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $483.97 and a 200 day moving average of $502.58.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.89%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Melius Research lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and four have issued 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 $630.37.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Key Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst and Street optimism — Wedbush’s Dan Ives and others are positioning Microsoft as set for strong Q4 results tied to AI/cloud momentum, helping lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Dan Ives: Very Strong Q4 Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: Broker reaffirmation — Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating and high $650 target based on survey data showing rising enterprise software spend, supporting longer‑term upside expectations. Morgan Stanley Overweight
- Positive Sentiment: OpenAI monetization boost — OpenAI’s worldwide rollout of the lower‑cost ChatGPT Go subscription expands the addressable market for AI services where Microsoft has strategic exposure, lifting revenue hopes. OpenAI ChatGPT Go Worldwide
- Positive Sentiment: Data‑center expansion/community plan — News of a $500M–$1B Michigan data‑center push and Microsoft’s “community‑first” messaging shows continued capex to support Azure/AI growth, which investors view as reinforcing future revenue streams despite near‑term costs. Michigan Data Center Investment
- Neutral Sentiment: Technical/short‑term rebound thesis — Some analysts note MSFT is oversold and could see a technical bounce ahead of earnings, which supports trading interest but is not a fundamental catalyst. Zacks: Ripe for Turnaround
- Neutral Sentiment: Minor operational housekeeping — The company closed some on‑campus libraries, a small cost/real‑estate move that got attention but is unlikely to materially affect earnings. MSFT Shuts Libraries
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory probe into Activision Blizzard — Italy opened investigations into alleged “misleading and aggressive” in‑game purchase practices for Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal, creating reputational and potential financial risk for MSFT’s gaming unit. Italy Investigates Activision
- Negative Sentiment: Legal risk from Musk trial — A judge cleared Elon Musk’s suit against OpenAI and Microsoft to proceed to a jury trial in April, introducing headline legal overhang and potential distraction/costs. Musk Trial Moves Forward
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny and analyst trim — Switzerland opened a probe into Microsoft’s licensing fees and Barclays lowered its price target, both adding near‑term headwinds to sentiment amid capex worries and noted insider selling. Swiss Probe into Licensing Fees
Microsoft Company Profile
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Free Report)
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
Further Reading
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