Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Summit Financial Strategies Inc.

Summit Financial Strategies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,718 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.8% of Summit Financial Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Summit Financial Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st 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. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $495.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $509.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $451.09. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $612.54.

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.