Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by First Business Financial Services Inc.

First Business Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,123 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 0.8% of First Business Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 564,387.1% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 90,549,369 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $45,040,162,000 after acquiring an additional 90,533,328 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 62,267,822 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,374,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $474.00 on Tuesday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $512.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. DA Davidson set a $650.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $640.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.33.

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.