Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 359,857 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 365,855 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 359,857 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.8% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $124,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jackson Square Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 37,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,868,000 after purchasing an additional 4,727 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 310,537 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $105,750,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the last quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 5,307 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 82,689 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,159,000 after buying an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Middleton & Co. Inc. MA grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 64,323 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $21,904,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $360.69 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $219.35 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $331.49 and its 200-day moving average is $328.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $347.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $384.34.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.