Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,691 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,949 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.9% of Ritholtz Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $83,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 155.7% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Melius Research increased their price target on Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $634.47.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MSFT opened at $508.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. 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 $513.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $494.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.