R Squared Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 71.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,077 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,951 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.4% of R Squared Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $2,616,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2,332.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,262,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $131,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,371 shares during the period. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 87,535 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,334,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $402.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $400.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $410.17.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. HSBC reduced their target price on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. President Capital raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.46.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced an expanded strategic partnership with AMD to deploy Helios systems across Azure, reinforcing its AI infrastructure buildout and giving the stock a near-term boost. Microsoft expands AMD partnership with Helios AI infrastructure deployment on Azure
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are framing Microsoft as attractively valued ahead of earnings, with some highlighting upside from Azure growth, AI execution, and Copilot adoption if management delivers strong commentary. Microsoft Stock Price Offers ‘Attractive Entry Point,’ Says Deutsche Bank Ahead of Q2 Earnings
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is approaching fiscal Q4 earnings on July 29, and investors are watching for updates on Azure growth, AI spending, and whether Copilot is gaining traction. Microsoft earnings to spotlight Azure growth, AI spending
- Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is also being weighed down by a new securities-fraud lawsuit tied to prior AI/Copilot disclosures, which could add legal and reputational overhang ahead of earnings. MSFT Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Microsoft Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.
Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).
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