Phocas Financial Corp. Has $1.53 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Phocas Financial Corp. decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,080 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,075,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 54,910 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.6%

MSFT stock opened at $495.00 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $509.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $450.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly 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 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $612.54.

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.