Divergent Planning LLC Lowers Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Divergent Planning LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,806 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Divergent Planning LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,732 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $211,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 26.5% during the second quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,802 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.1% in the second quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triton Financial Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,070,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $487.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $514.09 and its 200 day moving average is $498.25. The company has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.33.

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.