Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Capital Advantage Inc.

Capital Advantage Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,340 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 811 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.0% of Capital Advantage Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Capital Advantage Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 111.7% in the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% in the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total transaction of $418,462.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,588.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, 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 insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $328.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $213.43 and a 52-week high of $366.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $333.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.27.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Microsoft from $340.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Argus boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Microsoft from $425.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.68.

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.