Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Carret Asset Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,239 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,201 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.1% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Seek First Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the second quarter. Seek First Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Level Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors now owns 2,680 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $639.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $630.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Mizuho cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 24th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.33.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 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. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $492.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $509.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $500.59. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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