Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Has $2.24 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 73.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,494 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,907 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.4% of Whalen Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Whalen Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 126 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $500.00 target price (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $650.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.33.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $492.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $509.95 and a 200-day moving average of $500.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.89%.

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.