Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Cut by Clarus Group Inc.

Clarus Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,613 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.9% of Clarus Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $618.47.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $523.98 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $513.38 and a 200-day moving average of $469.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.