Old North State Wealth Management LLC Sells 36 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Old North State Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,797 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.0% of Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $618.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $522.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $513.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $470.36. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

About Microsoft

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.