Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,280,983 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 99,314 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.4% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $477,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 8.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 346,475 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,230,000 after acquiring an additional 25,814 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $117,744,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,944,917 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in Microsoft by 5.5% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 153,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,362,000 after purchasing an additional 8,022 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its position in Microsoft by 35.9% during the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 22,364 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 63.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 5,716 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $535.93 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $516.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $439.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $559.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at $302,924,086.32. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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. 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 a total of 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.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent results provide a counterpoint: Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while strong Azure demand and AI adoption support growth in its cloud business. MSFT Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Azure Growth and AI Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s decision not to take up an option to expand Nscale’s Texas data-center capacity appears connected to construction delays and tighter scrutiny of infrastructure partners. It may reflect capital discipline and project execution concerns, rather than a broad retreat from AI investment. Microsoft tightens oversight of neocloud data center projects
• Negative Sentiment: The abandoned expansion has stoked investor concerns about delayed AI capacity coming online and whether heavy data-center investment will generate sufficient cloud returns. Reports of an AI-spending shortfall have also weighed on sentiment toward infrastructure partners and Microsoft’s growth outlook. Why Microsoft Stock is Down Today
• Negative Sentiment: Technology shares sold off broadly late Thursday, adding sector-wide pressure to MSFT. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Tumble Late Afternoon

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets set a $610.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Griffin Securities downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.54.

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.