AF Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

AF Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 504 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000. Microsoft makes up 0.1% of AF Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 9.1% during the second quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 2,993 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,903 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.8% in the second quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 19,118 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,509,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. Finally, Shaker Investments LLC OH boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 22.0% in the second quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 8,039 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,999,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. HSBC upped their price target on Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Baird R W raised Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (down from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.33.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business’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 owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $485.50 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $510.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $499.71. 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 company has a market cap of $3.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft Profile

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.