Versant Capital Management Inc Has $23.01 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 3.2%, now owning 46,268 shares valued at approximately $23 million, making it the firm’s fourth largest position.
• Analysts are optimistic about Microsoft, with several upgrading their ratings to "buy" and increasing target prices, resulting in a consensus target price of $612.54.
• Microsoft recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, up from $0.83, reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,268 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.5% of Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 155.7% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.9%

MSFT stock traded up $9.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $517.93. 52,313,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,095,838. The firm's 50-day moving average is $511.71 and its 200-day moving average is $457.92. The company has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

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.