Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $10.64 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,428 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.9% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. PMV Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% during the second quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Seek First Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Seek First Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors now owns 2,680 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,761 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Onyx Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,108 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,536,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $493.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $514.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $498.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 35.71%.The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $500.00 price target (down from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.05.

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.