Granite Group Advisors LLC Sells 1,830 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Granite Group Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,948 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,830 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.9% of Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 155.7% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MSFT opened at $508.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $513.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $639.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $634.47.

Microsoft 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.