Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lifted by Southland Equity Partners LLC

Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,968 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 689 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.1% of Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $446.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $424.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $409.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $456.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Company 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.