Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,385 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.6% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,151 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,982,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. ONE Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. ONE Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 204,974 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $101,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Presilium Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Presilium Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Capital Group grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 72,392 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $496.82 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $513.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $493.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders 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%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.89%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,555 shares of company stock worth $97,840,842. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.47.

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.