Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Boosted by Counterweight Ventures LLC

Counterweight Ventures LLC grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,734 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.4% of Counterweight Ventures LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Counterweight Ventures LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fosun International Ltd increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 540 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $506.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $509.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $448.54. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. 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 has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.