Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Lakeside Advisors INC.

Lakeside Advisors INC. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,469 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 667 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 25.7% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Affiance Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 10,362 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,898 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Rede Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Rede Wealth LLC now owns 9,653 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. now owns 3,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterford Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% in the first quarter. Waterford Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $322.98 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $333.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.96. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total transaction of $418,462.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 874 shares in the company, valued at $292,588.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total transaction of $418,462.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,588.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Wedbush raised their price target on Microsoft from $375.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Argus raised their price target on Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.68.

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.