Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Trimmed by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 352,135 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 11,588 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.9% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $132,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Constant Guidance Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $633,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 701,305 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $221,437,000 after buying an additional 48,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004,612 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $317,206,000 after acquiring an additional 68,848 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $414.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $386.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.