Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Boosted by Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC

Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 915 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.4% of Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PMV Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Seek First Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Seek First Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors now owns 2,680 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,761 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Onyx Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,108 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,536,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the 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 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,555 shares of company stock worth $97,840,842. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.67.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $514.33 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $514.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $490.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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