Puzo Michael J Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Puzo Michael J lowered its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,054 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,565 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.3% of Puzo Michael J’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Puzo Michael J’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased 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 period. Newton One Investments LLC increased 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 period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $69,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft 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 directly owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. 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 report on Monday. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.67.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MSFT opened at $517.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $513.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.83. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.89%.

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.