Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 346,888 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,246 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.2% of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $129,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 13,485 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,030,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Harbor Island Capital LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 6.0% in the second quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 40,824 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,228,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the second quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,683 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 6.6% during the second quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 16,794 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% during the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 12,758 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,759,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Evercore raised Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wolfe Research cut Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $594.11.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.5%

Microsoft stock opened at $532.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $508.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $437.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to approximately 60,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, India and the U.K. The program is aimed at reducing costs and reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence, data centers and other strategic priorities. Investors appear to view the move as a way to help offset the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets ahead of earnings. Oppenheimer lifted its target to $625 from $570, while Truist raised its target to $600 from $575 and maintained a Buy rating, citing resilient Azure growth and strong enterprise demand. Oppenheimer raises Microsoft target ahead of earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects continued momentum in Azure and Copilot monetization. Microsoft reports fiscal first-quarter results on October 28, making cloud growth, AI demand and spending efficiency important near-term catalysts. Microsoft stock gains as Wall Street sees Azure growth

About Microsoft

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.