Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Orion Capital Management LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Orion Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,438 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.8% of Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 111.7% in the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 157.0% in the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Raymond James upped their target price on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Microsoft from $337.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $232.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $333.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $332.75 and a 200-day moving average of $309.33.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.07%.

Microsoft 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.