Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.

Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,153 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.3% of Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,655,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 216,799 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $107,838,000 after buying an additional 2,818 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 16,666 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,204,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,413 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,169,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rainier Family Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 19,743 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,820,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $510.96 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $513.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $472.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Arete upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $618.47.

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.