Virtu Financial LLC Cuts Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft by 42.7%, dropping its holdings to 50,501 shares valued at approximately $18.96 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider transactions revealed that CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares for over $75 million, indicating a 15.87% decrease in his ownership.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Microsoft, with estimates reaching as high as $675, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock's performance.

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 42.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,501 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 37,588 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.0% of Virtu Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fosun International Ltd grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orin Green Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the software giant's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $498.20 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $509.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.72. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.

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