79,608 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Purchased by Zions Bancorporation National Association UT

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Microsoft, purchasing 79,608 shares valued at approximately $29.88 million, making Microsoft about 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $3.65, exceeding estimates, and had a revenue of $76.44 billion, a year-over-year increase of 18.1%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 24.34%.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 79,608 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $29,884,000. Microsoft makes up about 1.9% of Zions Bancorporation National Association UT's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded up $3.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $498.20. 16,724,087 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,521,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $509.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.72. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $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. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, 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 value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.