Columbia Asset Management Sells 678 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Columbia Asset Management cut its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,860 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 678 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 9.1% of Columbia Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $46,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first 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. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $513.58 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $511.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $476.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $618.97.

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 value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.