Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC

Key Points

• Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation by 70.9% in the first quarter, owning 28,100 shares valued at $10.55 million after selling 68,628 shares during the period.
• The company's CEO, Satya Nadella, sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock for approximately $75.3 million, marking a 15.87% decrease in his ownership position.
• Microsoft recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with a payout ratio of 24.34%, reflecting a yield of 0.7% for shareholders of record.

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 70.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,100 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 68,628 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.7% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after buying an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after buying an additional 3,103,212 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft 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. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.6%

Microsoft stock traded down $12.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $495.00. The company had a trading volume of 31,963,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,259,959. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $509.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.01. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft 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 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. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.