Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,552 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.4% of Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. U S Wealth Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. U S Wealth Group LLC. now owns 15,220 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares during the last quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 47,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,882,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 480.1% in the second quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd. now owns 82,867 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,911,000 after buying an additional 68,582 shares during the last quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.6% during the second quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC now owns 17,358 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,475,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,735,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Wolfe Research raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Microsoft from $662.00 to $722.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.
View Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 555,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Cloud and AI results supported the rally. Microsoft’s fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 19% year over year to $92.28 billion, beating estimates, while Azure growth accelerated and AI adoption continued to expand. Reports also highlighted a $677 billion commercial backlog as evidence of future demand. Article: MSFT Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Azure Growth and AI Spending
- Positive Sentiment: Broader market strength lifted mega-cap technology shares. Microsoft joined a post-election rebound as investors rotated back into AI leaders; the company also reached a record high during the session. Article: Microsoft Stock Hits Record High as Midterm Results Boost AI Infrastructure Bets
- Positive Sentiment: New analytics tools target AI-assisted shopping. Microsoft added features to Clarity that help merchants track how AI agents interact with websites and apps, extending the company’s offerings for businesses adopting agentic AI. Article: Microsoft Clarity Helps Merchants Welcome AI Shopping Agents
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft disclosed a $25 billion senior-notes offering. The debt issuance provides financing flexibility, but also adds borrowing and interest obligations. Article: Microsoft Announces $25 Billion Senior Notes Offering
- Negative Sentiment: AI investment remains a key risk. Analysts and commentary flagged substantial infrastructure spending, possible pressure on free cash flow and margins, and political calls for tighter data-center rules that could constrain future expansion. Article: Microsoft: Don’t Get Too Excited About Its Positive FCF
Microsoft Trading Up 6.7%
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $555.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $559.15. The company has a market cap of $4.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $515.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $439.42.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 19.00%.
Microsoft Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.
The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.
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