Keystone Wealth Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Keystone Wealth Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,002 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.5% of Keystone Wealth Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Keystone Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $510.05 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $514.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $477.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 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 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.79.

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.