Bowman & Co S.C. Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Bowman & Co S.C. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,953 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.3% of Bowman & Co S.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bowman & Co S.C.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Birchbrook Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 6,326 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Fosun International Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% in the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $514.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $511.94 and its 200 day moving average is $459.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.