Curbstone Financial Management Corp Has $9.81 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,948 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 876 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.1% of Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its holdings 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 worth $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $550,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Link Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 296.7% in the first quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,964 shares of company stock worth $6,245,404. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $413.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $434.36 and its 200-day moving average is $422.87. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

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.