Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp trimmed its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,379,795 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 223,249 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.3% of OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $510,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

MSFT stock opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $407.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $407.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest earnings showed stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue, with Azure growth and Copilot adoption reinforcing the view that substantial AI investment is beginning to generate returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors continue to favor Microsoft over some other mega-cap technology names. Hedge Funds Favor Microsoft Over Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target to $660 and maintained an Outperform rating, arguing that Microsoft’s data-center expansion is measured, flexible, and supported by durable cloud demand. Other analysts also identified Azure growth, backlog, and institutional buying as potential catalysts for a year-end rally. Bernstein Raises Microsoft Target
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft may unveil its Maia 300 AI chip as early as September and secure production capacity for more than 300,000 units could reduce reliance on Nvidia processors, lower long-term AI costs, and support Microsoft’s cloud strategy. Microsoft Maia 300 Chip Report

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Dbs Bank cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.16.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).