Columbus Macro LLC Has $7.76 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Columbus Macro LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,593 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $640.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $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.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $517.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $513.81 and its 200 day moving average is $487.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. 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.