Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Trimmed by US Asset Management LLC

US Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,733 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 433 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 6.0% of US Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. US Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $507.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.06. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $506.08 and its 200-day moving average is $444.11. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. TD Securities upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 8,850 shares of company stock worth $4,406,512 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft 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.