Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by PayPay Securities Corp

PayPay Securities Corp lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 43.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.1% of PayPay Securities Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. PayPay Securities Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $477.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $428.54. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company 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%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.