Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is AdviceOne Advisory Services LLC’s 8th Largest Position

AdviceOne Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,869 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 0.7% of AdviceOne Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. AdviceOne Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 155.7% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $497.10 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $514.07 and a 200 day moving average of $490.60.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,555 shares of company stock valued at $97,840,842. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Arete raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $639.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $634.59.

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.