Southland Equity Partners LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,756 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 0.9% of Southland Equity Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fosun International Ltd lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price target (up from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. TD Securities upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $538.04.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $511.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $476.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.88. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $513.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.