Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Cut by Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,061 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.6% of Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $517.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $512.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $467.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.