Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Reduced by Golden State Equity Partners

Golden State Equity Partners cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,329 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.8% of Golden State Equity Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. Barclays lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $535.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $491.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $435.76.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.