Vantage Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,460 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,324 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.3% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $58,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st 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. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $531.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $511.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $483.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $3.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 2.28 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 quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This is a positive change 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%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Guggenheim raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $617.41.

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.