Sowell Financial Services LLC Sells 210 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Sowell Financial Services LLC decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,384 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.1% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $76,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $519.71 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $512.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.83. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $617.63.

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.