Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Decreased by GPM Growth Investors Inc.

GPM Growth Investors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,900 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 9.1% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Seek First Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,761 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $492.12 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $509.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Arete boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related 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 transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.