Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Boosted by Formidable Asset Management LLC

Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,084 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.8% of Formidable Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first 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. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Microsoft Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $510.96 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $513.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $472.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. 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 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Microsoft from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.47.

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.