Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 5,985 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 790,104 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.6% of Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $294,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the second quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $32,020,000 after purchasing an additional 5,552 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the second quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $12,289,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $501.15 and its 200-day moving average is $434.73.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 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 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft’s productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.