Axiom Financial Strategies LLC Sells 1,169 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 44.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,455 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,169 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.4% of Axiom Financial Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 81,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $40,391,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 684,901 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $339,670,000 after purchasing an additional 43,217 shares during the period. Pacific Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacific Wealth Management now owns 948 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,762 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,363,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.5% in the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,306 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,121,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $472.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $512.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Profile

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.